Bollywood stars urge PM Narendra Modi to put an end to mob lynching

Multiple Bollywood celebrities have come forth raising their voice against mob lynching by writing a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The letter written by 49 celebrities, addressed to India’s premier shed light on the neglected issue that is faced by the Muslims in the country, while urging Modi to put an end to it.

“The lynching of Muslims, Dalits and other minorities must be stopped immediately. We were shocked to learn from the NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) reports that there have been no less than 840 instances of atrocities against Dalits in the year 2016, and a definite decline in the percentage of convictions,” the letter stated.

“Further, 254 religious identity-based hate crimes were reported between January 1, 2009, and October 29, 2018, where at least 91 persons were killed and 579 were injured. The Citizen’s Religious Hate-Crime Watch recorded that Muslims, (14% of India’s population) were the victims in 62% of cases, and Christians (2% of the July 23, 2019 population), in 14% of cases. About 90% of these attacks were reported after May 2014, when your government assumed power nationally,” it further added.

“What action has actually been taken against the perpetrators? We strongly feel that such offences should be declared non-bailable, and that exemplary punishment should be meted out swiftly and surely. If life imprisonment without parole can be the sentence in cases of murder, why not for lynching, which are even more heinous? No citizen should have to live in fear in his/her own country,” it was added.

“We hope our suggestions will be taken in the spirit that they are meant – as Indians genuinely concerned with, and anxious about, the fate of our nation,” it concluded. 

The 49 stars who have signed the letter include  Adoor Gopalkrishnan, Mani Ratnam, Anurag Kashyap, Binayak Sen, Soumitro Chatterjee, Aparna Sen, Konkana Sen Sharma, Revathy, Shyam Benegal, Shubha Mudgal, Rupam Islam, Anupam Roy, Parambrata and Riddhi Sen.