‘Jai Shri Ram’ has become war cry today, write 49 activists, artists to PM Modi over mob lynching

Social activists, film directors and actors such as Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Mani Ratnam, Anurag Kashyap and Aparna Sen, Konkona Sen Sharma, Soumita Chatterjee have written a letter to PM Modi expressing concerns over increasing cases of mob lynching.

49 activists and artists have signed the letter expressing displeasure that 'Jai Shree Ram' has become a war cry today.

Signatories urged PM Modi to make an environment where dissent is not crushed and only makes for a stronger nation.

"Ram is sacred for the majority community, stop defiling the name of Ram," states the letter

Mentioning the number of lynching cases the country has witnessed, the letter states "The lynching of Muslims, Dalits and other minorities must be stopped immediately. We were shocked to learn from the NCRB 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 also includes Binayak Sen, Soumitra Chatterjee, Revathy, Shyam Benegal, Shubha Mudgal, Rupam Islam, Anupam Roy, Parambrata, Riddhi Sen to name a few.

"You have criticised such lynchings in Parliament Mr Prime Minister, but that is not enough! What action has actually been taken against the perpetrators?,” reads the letter dated 23rd July.

"Regrettably, Jai Shri Ram has become a provocative war cry today that leads to law and order problems, and many lynchings take place in its name," it added.

The letter further adds, "There is no democracy without dissent. People should not be branded anti-national or urban Naxal and incarcerated because of dissent against the government."