A group of students and faculty members from the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) have requested Prime Minister (PM), Narendra Modi, to speak up against the hate speech and caste and religion-centric violence in the country in an open letter.
The letter mentioned that the PM's silence on these matters "emboldens the hate-filled voices and threatens the unity and integrity of our country".
It read, "Your silence, Honourable Prime Minister, emboldens the hate-filled voices and threatens the unity and integrity of our country. We request you, Honourable Prime Minister, to stand firm against forces that seek to divide us".
The letter has come to light after a recent incident of hate speech at a Haridwar Dharam sansad event where Hindu religious leaders called for people to take up arms against Muslims.
"Hate speeches and calls for violence against communities based on religion/caste identities is unacceptable," the letter read.
It further read, "There is a sense of fear in our country now – places of worship, including churches in recent days, are being vandalised, and there have been calls to take arms against our Muslim brothers and sisters. All of this is carried out with impunity and without any fear of due process".
The letter that had 183 signatories including 13 faculty members, students and faculty members of IIM-Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore asked the PM to speak up against the hate mongers in the society.
"Your silence, Honourable Prime Minister, emboldens the hate-filled voices and threatens the unity and integrity of our country. We request you, Honourable Prime Minister, to stand firm against forces that seek to divide us," the students and the faculty said in their letter.
Notably, at the event in Haridwar, Hindu religious leader Sant Kalicharan Maharaj had said that the aim of Islam was to capture the nation through politics. Kalicharan Maharaj had also controversially urged people to elect a "staunch Hindu leader" to "protect" Hinduism, in a now viral footage.
