New Delhi: A group of retired government officials have written to the chief minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami, condemning his government’s response to the recent Dharma Sansad at Haridwar, where open calls for genocide of Muslims were made. They have also called for the immediate arrests of the organisers and speakers of the event and implementation of the July 2018 Supreme Court order on the prevention of mob violence.The event was held between December 17 and 19 in the state, which saw the participation of a large number of Hindu religious leaders, right-wing activists and Hindutva organisations.The event was also attended by BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay, who was earlier arrested for an event he helped organise at Jantar Mantar in Delhi where slogans were raised calling for violence against Muslims. BJP Mahila Morcha leader Udita Tyagi was also present, implying tacit support from the ruling party for the event.As per publicly available videos, the speakers at the Dharma Sansad “openly called for the massacre of 20 lakh Muslim citizens of India and threatened to ‘cleanse’ villages of this community”, the letter said.“The very fact that this gathering was allowed was a massive failure on the part of your government’s law and order machinery. Even now, after international outrage, an FIR has been registered under only one section against three people. It is clear that your government is protecting these individuals,” it said.On December 22, the Uttarakhand Police registered an FIR against Wasim Rizvi, who was the former chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Central Shia Waqf Board, and others for making hate speech at the Dharma Sansad, under Section 153A of the IPC (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion). Two days later, two others in the video were also named in the FIR.Also read: ‘Condemn Calls for Genocide’: Ex Service Chiefs, Veterans, Prominent Citizens Write to Modi, KovindThe letter further said: “It also cannot be said that these were mere speeches. Since the current government came to power in 2017, there has been a series of violent incidents where mobs targeted residents, shops, and places of worship belonging to religious minorities as well as, in one case, the office of an opposition party… Uttarakhand has never seen violence on this scale before. Yet your government does not appear to have taken action against the organisations engaging in violence. Indeed, as per publicly available information, even after two months no one has been arrested for the Roorkee attack.”“We further note that on October 4, your government justified extending powers under the National Security Act to magistrates in the name of ‘incidents of violence occurring’ in the state. But no serious action is being taken against those actually inciting violence, as at the Dharam Sansad. Instead these draconian orders only seem to be aimed at inducing fear in those dissenting against your government.”Condemning the lack of action in such hate speech cases, the letter added, “All in all this appears to be aimed at sending a clear message that religious minorities, and indeed anyone who is not with the ideology of your party, cannot expect the protection of the rule of law for their property, their freedom or their lives in your state. This is an assault on the foundations of our democracy. Tolerating and encouraging such activities is also a direct threat to our security as a nation.”Read the full text of the letter along with the list of signatories below.§January 1, 2022To,Shri Pushkar Singh DhamiHon’ble Chief MinisterGovernment of UttarakhandSub: Threats to the safety of citizens, national security spreading under your watch; call for immediate actionWe are concerned citizens and retired government officials from various states of India. We join the former Chief of the Naval Staff, Adm. Arun Prakash; former Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Ved Malik; Dr. Vikram Singh, former DGP, Uttar Pradesh; Dr. NC Asthana, former DGP, Kerala and ADG, CRPF; in expressing our deep anguish and strong condemnation of the manner in which your government has responded to the recent “Dharam Sansad” in Haridwar (Dec 17th to 22nd) as well as to earlier events in the state.We believe that these events (and your government’s response) pose a threat to the lives and safety of Indians, a black mark on the history of a state with a long tradition of peace and democratic values, and a direct threat to our national security.The recent Dharam Sansad, as per publicly available videos, included speakers who openly called for the massacre of 20 lakh Muslim citizens of India and who threatened to “cleanse” villages of this community. Since the event, these speakers have repeatedly reiterated their statements on national television.*This is an open attempt to spread fear and terror. But no one has even been arrested for this criminal activity till date. The very fact that this gathering was allowed was a massive failure on the part of your government’s law and order machinery. Even now, after international outrage, an FIR has been registered under only one section against three people. It is clear that your government is protecting these individuals.It also cannot be said that these were mere speeches. Since the current government came to power in 2017 there has been a series of violent incidents where mobs targeted residents, shops, and places of worship belonging to religious minorities as well as, in one case, the office of an opposition party. In a joint letter on 4th October civil society groups noted thirteen such incidents in 2017 and 2018 (specifically, in Satpuli, Mussoorie, Araghar (Dehradun), Kirtinagar, Haridwar, Raiwala, Kotdwar, Chamba, Augustyamuni, Doiwala, Ghansali, Ramnagar, and an attack on the CPM’s office in Dehradun). Most recently, on 3rd October 2021, a church in Roorkee was vandalised in broad daylight and four people beaten and seriously injured.Uttarakhand has never seen violence on this scale before. Yet your government does not appear to have taken action against the organisations engaging in violence. Indeed, as per publicly available information, even after two months no one has been arrested for the Roorkee attack.We further note that on October 4th, your government justified extending powers under the National Security Act to magistrates in the name of “incidents of violence occurring” in the State. But no serious action is being taken against those actually inciting violence, as at the Dharam Sansad. Instead, these draconian orders only seem to be aimed at inducing fear in those dissenting against your government.All in all, this appears to be aimed at sending a clear message that religious minorities, and indeed anyone who is not with the ideology of your party, cannot expect the protection of the rule of law for their property, their freedom or their lives in your state.This is an assault on the foundations of our democracy. Tolerating and encouraging such activities is also a direct threat to our security as a nation.Hence, we call upon you to:Immediately arrest and book the organisers of the Dharam Sansad and the speakers who engaged in open calls for violence under all applicable sections of the law;Immediately state in public that such activities will not be tolerated in Uttarakhand;Initiate action against any organisations promoting or engaging in violence;Implement the instructions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of July 2018 regarding the prevention of mob violence.Sincerely,Vikas Narain Rai, former DGP, HaryanaSR Darapuri, former IGP, Uttar PradeshVibhuti Narain Rai, former DGP, Uttar PradeshVijay Shankar Singh, retired IPS, Uttar Pradesh*See, for example, the statements of Dharam Sansad speakers on the nationally broadcast “Newstrack” show of India Today on the evening of December 24th.
