Open Letter regarding violence and discrimination against minorities in India

Dear friends in the media,
Please find attached an Open Letter denouncing the violence and discrimination against minorities in India. The letter has been signed by 67 retired civil servants belonging to a range of services, many of whom had reached the pinnacle of their careers during their working lives. It expresses deep concern at the continuing brutal violence and widespread discrimination targeting minorities as also the wholly lackadaisical response of law enforcement authorities to these attacks. The letter calls upon the Hon’ble Prime Minister and his Government  to give an immediate and clear response on these issues and to take firm action against the perpetrators of such hate crimes by various law enforcement agencies. In conclusion, it urges those who belong to the majority community to stand up, oppose and publicly condemn the communalization of our society and our country.
Of the 67 signatories, 8 were  in the Indian Police Service (IPS), 9 were in the Indian Foreign Service (IFS),  8  in other services like the Indian Information Service (IIS), the Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS), the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) and so on and 42 in the Indian Administrative  Service (IAS).Analysis of their ranks and postings is instructive.
Of the IPS officers, most retired in the rank of Director-General of Police and/or Special Secretary/Secretary to the Government of India and two of them went on to become the Governor of Manipur and Adviser to the Governor of Punjab/Ambassador to Romania respectively. Amongst the IFS officers, 8 out of 9 represented India as Ambassadors and High Commissioners to different countries and went on to retire in the rank of Special Secretary/Secretary to the Government of India.
 Amongst the signatories are at least 2 former Chief Information Commissioners of the Central Information Commission, a former Chief Information Commissioner in a State, a former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and a former Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General of India as well as more than 15 former Secretaries to the Government of India, 3 former Chief Secretaries to State Governments and several Additional Chief Secretaries/Principal Secretaries to State Governments. One is a winner of the Magsaysay Award. Cutting across services, there are are some officers who headed Central and State public sector undertakings, Government Commissions and so on.

We urge you to publish and disseminate our anguished letter as widely as possible.

January 28, 2018
Open Letter regarding violence and discrimination against minorities in India
We, retired civil servants belonging to different Services and batches, wish to register our
deep concern at the continuing incidents of mindless violence in the country, especially
those targeting the minorities, and the lackadaisical response of the law enforcement
machinery to these attacks.
The killing of Mohammed Afrazul, a migrant worker from West Bengal in Rajsamand,
Rajasthan, on the 25th Anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid has deeply shaken
each of us. The recording of the brutal act on video and the circulation of the justification
for the killing over the internet cuts at the roots of an inclusive and pluralistic society
drawing its inspiration from the teachings of Buddha, Mahavira, Ashoka, Akbar, the Sikh
Gurus, Hindu Sages and Gandhi. The violent incidents in Udaipur in support of the alleged
killer are a pointer to how deep the sectarian poison has spread among the population of
this country.
In the last nine months, we have seen the death of Pehlu Khan on 3rd April after he was
attacked by a crowd of so called Gau Rakshaks near Behror, Alwar, on 1st of April. The
killers named by him have not been arrested so far. However, seven others have been
arrested and subsequently let off on bail.
The second killing on 16th of June of Zafar Khan was in the name of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
The Municipal Chairman and other Safai Karmacharis in Pratapgarh reportedly beat him to
death while he was opposing the naming and shaming process for making Pratapgarh open
defecation- free. There is no arrest so far with the police claiming that Zafar Khan died of a
heart attack.
The third killing in June 2017, was that of 16-year-old Junaid Khan on a train returning after
Eid shopping in Delhi following a dispute over seats on the train when following abuses and
insults he was stabbed and thrown out of the train at Asoti station, where he bled to death.
Following an outcry against this incident both within and outside India, the Prime Minister
made a statement that “killing people in the name of ‘Gau bhakti’ is unacceptable”. He
repeated this once again a day before the Parliamentary session started on 15th of July,
2017, at an all India meeting of the BJP, where he placed the onus on taking stringent action
in these cases on the State governments. However, the killings continue without any check.
The fourth killing happened on 27th August, 2017, when Anwar Hussain and Hafizul Sheikh,
both 19 years of age, who were transporting cattle purchased from Dhupguri in West Bengal
to Tufangunj in Cooch Behar. As they got lost on the way, a mob accosted them in the early
hours and when they could not pay the 50,000 rupees demanded of them, beat them both
to death. Though three persons were arrested for the lynching, efforts to identify others in
the mob have not produced any result so far.
The fifth killing happened on 10th of November, 2017, when Umair Khan and his friends
transporting cows were fired on by so called Gau Rakshaks in Govindgarh Tehsil in Alwar
district. Umair Khan was killed and his body was carried to the railway track in an attempt
to destroy all evidence. Of the seven killers only two were arrested. However, two of the
victims, Tahir and Jawed, were placed behind bars.
The Indian Express of December 25 quotes a BJP MLA from Rajasthan – Gyan Dev Ahuja of
Ramgarh – who said that “if one engages in cow smuggling or slaughters a cow, he will be
killed.” Such language is an open incitement to violence, acts of which are slowly poisoning
the body politic and examples of which are listed above. Such words and actions have no
place in a civilized society and fly in the face of established jurisprudence. Vigilantism is let
loose upon a hapless group with all its tragic consequences.
Apart from the murders, we are deeply concerned to see the acceleration of a process of
ghettoization through organized resistance to sale of properties to Muslims, or refusal by
owners to have them as tenants. A recent case reported in the media relates to prevention
of a Muslim buyer to take possession of a house in the Maliwara locality of Meerut that he
had paid for. The daily indignities that the Muslims face in this and many other ways is
bound to lead to an atmosphere of resentment in that religious community that will further
vitiate an already poisoned environment. The “love-jihad” campaigns of right-wing Hindu
groups are again symptomatic of the efforts by extremist elements of the majority religion
to interfere in the basic constitutional rights of citizens to enter into marriage with a partner
of their choice.
In the past few weeks in December, we are witness to increasing targeting of Christians
around the observation of Christmas. On 15th of December, police detained groups singing
carols in Satna. When a group of priests went to make enquiries, they were also reportedly
detained by the police. In Uttar Pradesh, the Hindu Jagran Manch warned Christian schools
in Aligarh against observing Christmas. In Rajasthan, members of the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad allegedly stormed a Christmas function on the grounds that this was an attempt at
forced conversion.
We seek now and without delay a clear response from the Hon’ble Prime Minister and his
government on these issues, along with immediate and firm action against the perpetrators
of such hate crimes against minorities in this country by the respective law enforcement
authorities.
These recent incidents undermine our Constitutional values and weaken the rule of law to
create a new normal in society. Our existing laws provide adequate protection if they are
implemented with the necessary will and determination. Legal protection alone however is
not a solution when the communal virus has already spread far and wide in the society. It is
essential for each of us as individuals to reflect on the repercussions of a situation where
the present trends could threaten the peace and cohesion that is a fundamental prerequisite
for our growth and development. And for all of us, most of all for those who
belong to the majority community, to go beyond mere reflection, to stand up, oppose and
publicly condemn the communalization of our society and our country.
Signatories:

1. S.P. Ambrose IAS (Retd.) Former Additional Secretary, Ministry of
Shipping & Transport, GoI
2. Ishrat Aziz IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Brazil & Saudi
Arabia
3. Vappala
Balachandran
IPS (Retd.) Former Special Secretary, Cabinet
Secretariat, GoI
4. Meeran C
Borwankar
IPS (Retd.) Former DGP, Bureau of Police Research
and Development, GoI
5. Sundar Burra IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra
6. Som Chaturvedi IRTS (Retd.) Former Additional Member, Railway
Board, GoI
7. Javid Chaudhuri IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare, GoI
8. Kalyani Chaudhuri IAS (Retd.) Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt.
of West Bengal
9. Anna Dani IAS (Retd.) Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt.
of Maharashtra
10. Surjit K. Das IAS (Retd.) Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of
Uttarakhand
11. Vibha Puri Das IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Tribal
Affairs, GoI
12. Nareshwar Dayal IFS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of External
Affairs and High Commissioner to the
United Kingdom
13. Keshav Desiraju IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare, GoI
14. Sushil Dubey IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Sweden
15. K.P. Fabian IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Italy
16. Bhaskar Ghose IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Information
& Broadcasting, GoI
17. Hirak Ghosh IAS (Retd.) Former Principal Secretary, Govt. of West
Bengal
18. Balagopal Gopalan IAS (Retd.) Former Special Secretary, Govt. of West
Bengal
19. R. Govindarajan IPS (Retd.) Former Chairman, Joint Intelligence
Committee, Cabinet Secretariat (in the
rank of Secretary to GoI)
20. Meena Gupta IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of
Environment & Forests, GoI
21. Ravi Vira Gupta IAS (Retd.) Former Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank
of India
22. Wajahat Habibullah IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, GoI and Chief
Information Commissioner.
23. Deepa Hari IRS
(Resigned)
24. Sajjad Hassan IAS (Retd.) Former Commissioner (Planning), Govt. of
Manipur
25. Gurbachan Jagat IPS (Retd.) Former DGP, J&K; DG, BSF; Chairman,
UPSC; Governor of Manipur
26. Kamal Jaswal IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Department of
Information Technology, GoI
27. K. John Koshy IAS (Retd.) Former State Chief Information
Commissioner, West Bengal
28. Ajai Kumar Indian Forest
Service
(Retd.)
Former Director, Ministry of Agriculture,
GoI
29. Arun Kumar IAS (Retd.) Former Chairman, National
Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority, GoI
30. Brijesh Kumar IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Department of
Information Technology, GoI
31. Chaman Lal IPS (Retd.) Former DGP, Nagaland.
32. P.M.S. Malik IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Myanmar &
Special Secretary, MEA, GoI
33. Harsh Mander IAS (Retd.) Govt. of Madhya Pradesh
34. Aditi Mehta IAS (Retd.) Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt.
of Rajasthan
35. Dalip Mehta IFS (Retd.) Former Secretary to GoI & Dean, Foreign
Service Institute
36. Sonalini
Mirchandani
IFS
(Resigned)
37. Dr. L. Mishra IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Labour, GoI
38. Sunil Mitra IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Finance, GoI
39. Ruchira Mukerjee IP&TFAS
(Retd.)
Former Adviser, Telecom Commission,
GoI
40. Anup Mukerji IAS (Retd.) Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Bihar
41. Deb Mukharji IFS (Retd.) Former High Commissioner to Bangladesh
and Ambassador to Nepal
42. Pranab S.
Mukhopadhyay
IAS (Retd.) Former Director, Indian Institute of Port
management, Kolkata, GoI
43. Sobha Nambisan IAS (Retd.) Former Principal Secretary (Planning),
Govt. of Karnataka
44. Sivakami
Palanimuthu
IAS (Retd.) Former Special Commissioner, Stationery
& Printing Department, Govt. of Tamil
Nadu
45. Niranjan Pant IA & AS
(Retd.)
Former Deputy Comptroller and Auditor
General of India.
46. P. R. Parthasarathy IPS (Retd.) Former Director, Anti-Corruption Bureau,
Govt. of Maharashtra
47. K. Sujatha Rao IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare, GoI
48. M.Y. Rao IAS (Retd.) Former Chairman, Orissa State Electricity
Board, Govt. of Orissa
49. N.K. Raghupathy IAS (Retd.) Former Chairman, Staff Selection
Commission, GoI
50. Satwant Reddy IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary to GoI, Ministry of
Chemicals and Petrochemicals
51. Julio Ribeiro IPS (Retd.) Former Adviser to Governor of Punjab &
Ambassador to Romania
52. Sayeed Rizvi IAS (Retd.) Former Joint Secretary, Ministry of
Environment & Forests, GoI
53. Aruna Roy IAS
(Resigned)
54. Manabendra N. Roy IAS (Retd.) Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt.
of West Bengal
55. ManMohan Sagar IPS (Retd.) Former CMD, Assam Police Housing
Corporation
56. Umrao Salodia IAS (Retd.) Former Chairman, Rajasthan Road
Transport Corporation, Govt. of Rajasthan
57. Deepak Sanan IAS (Retd.) Former Principal Adviser (AR) to Chief
Minister, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh
58. Deepak Sandhu Indian
Information
Service
(Retd.)
Former Chief Information Commissioner,
Central Information Commission
59. E. A.S. Sarma IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Department of
Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, GoI
60. N.C. Saxena IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Planning Commission,
GoI
61. A. Selvaraj IRS (Retd.) Former Chief Commissioner, Income Tax,
Chennai, GoI
62. Ardhendu Sen IAS (Retd.) Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of West
Bengal
63. Aftab Seth IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Japan
64. Har Mander Singh IAS (Retd.) Former Director General, ESI Corporation,
GoI
65. Jawhar Sircar IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Culture,
GoI, & CEO, Prasar Bharati
66. Geetha Thoopal IRAS (Retd.) Former General Manager, Metro Railway,
Kolkata
67. Ramani Venkatesan IAS (Retd.) Former Director General, YASHADA, Govt.
Of Maharashtra