Letter war over ‘intolerance’: Days after a group of noted personalities wrote an open letter to PM Narendra Modi over ‘rising’ intolerance in the country, 62 celebrities and artists have written an open letter against ‘selective outrage and false narratives’ by a specific group. In the letter, the celebrities have termed those who wrote about mob killings as ‘self-styled guardians and conscience keepers’ and charge them of political bias.
Titled ‘Against Selective Outrage & False Narratives,’ the letter has been undersigned by actor Kangana Ranaut, filmmaker Ashok Pandit, CBFC chief Prasoon Joshi, classical dancer Sonal Mansingh, MP Swapan Dasgupta, folk artist Malini Awasthi and others.
“An open letter which has been published on July 23, 2019, and addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi has astonished us. Forty-nine self-styled ‘guardians’ and ‘conscience keepers’ of the nation and of democratic values have once again expressed selective concern and demonstrated clear political bias and motive,” the letter reads.
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They said that the letter by 49 ‘achievers’ was written with the intention of “denigrating the democratic ethos and norms of our collective functioning as a nation and people”. Besides, they also pointed out the hypocrisy of the 49 by questioning their silence on other hate crimes including political murders and violence in West Bengal under Mamata Banerjee’s rule.
The celebrities asserted that they are confident that India shall continue to develop and progress without paying heed to the ones who always want to destabilise the country.
In a letter dated July 23, a total of 49 celebrities, including filmmakers like Anurag Kashyap, Konkana Sen Sharma, Mani Ratnam, Aparna Sen, wrote to PM Narendra Modi that they are ‘deeply concerned’ over rising intolerance in the country and incidents of mob lynching. On controversies over ‘Jai Sri Ram’ slogan, the signatories stated that it has become a provocative ‘war-cry’ that has lead to many law and order problems in the country.
