The Constitutional Conduct Group expressed concern over the recent trend of “majoritarian aggression and belligerence” in Uttarakhand
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – In an open letter sent to Union Home Minister Amit Shaha on Monday, a group of 101 former civil servants has demanded that he takes urgent measures to stop the proposed mahapanchayat in Uttarkashi on November 4, and the proposed “dharma sansad” in December. The letter further asks for action against those attempting to use such events to foment hate and incite violence.
The Constitutional Conduct Group expressed concern over the recent trend of “majoritarian aggression and belligerence” in Uttarakhand. It urged the home minister to act against those inciting hatred and violence against religious minorities.
The group said that systematic efforts had been made to “create new nurseries of hate” that could transform the peaceful region into a “breeding ground for aggressive Hindutva”.
“On September 10, 2024, a hate speech was made in the Dehradun Press Club claiming that a ‘dharma sansad’ will be organised in December 2024,” the group wrote. “It may be recalled that a ‘dharma sansad’ was organised in Haridwar in December 2021, in which a series of genocidal speeches demanded the mass killings and mass rape of Indian Muslim women. The call for another ‘dharma sansad’ has now been made by many of the same individuals and Hindus have been asked to arm themselves and treat members of the minority community as ‘enemies of humanity’”.
The former civil servants pointed out that Uttarakhand has recently witnessed attacks and hate speech against minorities in several locations including Chauras, Dehradun, Srinagar, Berinag, Uttarkashi, Karnaprayag, Nandnagar, Tharali, Tilwada, Gauchar, Sonprayag and Haldwani.
Their letter added: “Properties have been damaged and, reportedly, minority families have been forced to flee from their homes. Boards have been put up banning business by Muslim and non-Hindu vendors. A small handful of individuals and organisations – including those involved in the 2021 ‘dharma sansad’ – are responsible for the majority of these incidents.”
“As per our information, these are just five individuals and two organisations…Bajrang Dal and Rashtriya Seva Sangathan,” the former civil servants alleged, accusing the state police of being lenient towards supporters of Hindutva, particularly Yati Narasinghanand.
Narasinghanand, the priest of the Dasna Devi temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad was recently in the news for making derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), sparking protests by Muslim groups in several cities. Several FIRs were filed against Narsinghanand for alleged hate speech targeting Muslims.
In January 2022, Narsinghanand was arrested after he called for the genocide of Muslims at the “dharma sansad” in Haridwar the previous December.
The former civil servants’ group urged that the Uttarakhand Police be asked to explain their alleged failure to seek cancellation of bail for Yati Narsinghanand and demanded his arrest under the National Security Act for allegedly disrupting public order.
They also noted that while some district officials and police personnel have acted fairly to prevent violence, such efforts were sporadic and insufficient against the apparent broader communal agenda that has taken root in the state.
The Constitutional Conduct Group also pointed out that calls for organising “mahapanchayats” were being made in Uttarakhand to incite communal violence and advocate for the economic boycott and expulsion of Muslim residents.
