Over 100 ex-Army chiefs and bureaucrats write a letter to PM Modi, President against hate speech condemning incitement” to violence.
The signatories included former Navy chiefs Admiral (Retd) L Ramdas, Admiral (retd) Vishnu Bhagwat, Admiral (retd) Arun Prakash, and Admiral (retd) RK Dhowan and in the letter, the group of over 100 Army chiefs and bureaucrats referred to the communal comments made at an event in Haridwar recently and condemned “in no uncertain terms” such “incitement” to violence in the letter to President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the recent incidents of hate speeches and urged them to take appropriate measures.
“We cannot allow such incitement to violence together with public expressions of hate – which not only constitute serious breaches of internal security but which could also tear apart the social fabric of our nation,” they said in the letter. “One speaker made a call to the Army and police to pick up weapons and participate in the cleanliness drive (safai abhiyan). This amounts to asking the army to participate in the genocide of our own citizens, and is condemnable and unacceptable,” the letter added.
They further said, “In view of the current situation on our borders, any breach of peace and harmony within the Nation will embolden inimical external forces.” The letter added that the unity of the armed forces would be “seriously affected” by “such blatant calls for violence against one or the other community in our diverse and plural society.”
The letter also exhorts leaders of political parties to condemn these calls “for what is tantamount to genocide of Muslims.” “It is in the National Interest that all parties should refrain from using religion in politics and pledge to uphold our Constitution and the wellbeing of our people – thus ensuring both National and Human Security for all,” it said.
The Army is a secular bastion and functions in harmony to protect the nation. In every Army settlement, there is a temple, mosque, church, gurdwara, Gompa, and other religious worship altars. Tolerance is the DNA of the Army without which is not possible to unite against an enemy camp.