New Delhi

Seventeen eminent citizens including former civil servants, Generals and journalists have asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately call an interfaith meeting in the light of the recent case filed before a court seeking archaeological survey on the Ajmer Sharif dargah alleging it was built at the site of a Hindu temple.

The letter asks PM to give “a message that India remains a land for all, where faiths have existed together and in harmony for centuries and that no sectarian forces will be permitted to disturb this uniquely pluralistic and diverse legacy.”

“Sir, time is of the essence and we urge you to reassure all Indians, especially the minority communities that your Government will be firm in its resolve to maintain communal amity, harmony and integration,” the letter signed by among others by Lt. General Zameeruddin Shah, Najeeb Jung, former LG of Delhi,  N. C. Saxena, formerly with the Planning Commission, S Y Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner says.

The writers have also asked for a meeting with the Prime Minister on the issue.

The letter dated November 29 reads as follows:

“We are a group of independent citizens who over the past few years have made efforts to improve the deteriorating communal relations in the country. It is abundantly clear that over the last decade relations between communities, particularly Hindus and Muslims, and to an extent Christians are extremely strained leaving these latter two communities in extreme anxiety and insecurity.

“Under current circumstances we are left with no alternative but to address you directly, although we have no doubt you are well briefed on the prevailing conditions.

“It is not that inter communal relations have always been good. The gory memories of partition, the circumstances leading to it and the tragic riots in its aftermath remain embedded in our minds. We are also aware that even after partition our country has periodically been rocked by gruesome communal riots and the situation now is no better or no worse than what it was earlier. However, the incidents of the last ten years are markedly different in as much as they show the clearly partisan role of many of the state governments concerned and their administrative machinery.

“This, we believe, is unprecedented. What started as incidents of bullying or beating up Muslim youth on charges of carrying beef, grew into lynchings of innocent people within their homes, followed by Islamophobic hate speeches with clearly genocidal intent.  In the recent past there have been calls for boycotting Muslim business establishments and eateries, non-renting of premises to Muslims, and unrestrained bulldozing of Muslim homes at the behest of Chief Ministers themselves led by a ruthless local administration. As reported in the press, about 154,000 establishments have been hit and lacs rendered homeless or bereft of their place of business. Most of these belong to Muslims.

“Such activity is truly unprecedented and has shaken the confidence not just of these minorities but indeed of all secular Indians here and abroad.

“As if these incidents were not enough, the latest provocation is of unknown fringe groups, claiming to represent Hindu interests demanding archaeological surveys on medieval mosques and dargahs to prove the existence of ancient Hindu temples on the sites where these have been built. Despite the clear provisions of the Places of Worship Act, the courts too seem to respond to such demands with undue alacrity and haste.

“It appears unimaginable, for example, that a local court should order a survey on the 12th century dargah of the Sufi Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti - one of the most sacred  Sufi sites in Asia not just for Muslims but for all Indians who are proud of our syncretic and pluralist traditions  The very thought that a mendicant Saint, a fakir who was an integral part of the Sufi/ Bhakti movement unique to the Indian sub-continent, and a paragon of compassion, tolerance  and harmony could have destroyed any temple to assert his authority, is ridiculous.

“In fact, successive Prime Ministers, including yourself, have sent ‘chadars’ on the occasion of the annual Urs of the Saint as a homage to his message of peace and harmony. An ideological assault on this uniquely syncretic site is an assault on our civilizational heritage and perverts the very idea of an inclusive India that you yourself seek to reinvigorate.

“Sir, society cannot progress nor your dream of a developed Bharat come to fruition in the face of such disturbances.

“We as concerned citizens who have devoted their lives working for the Government of India in various capacities here and abroad, believe that you are the only person who can bring a halt to all illegal, pernicious activities. We, therefore, urge you to ensure that the Chief Ministers and the administrations under them adhere to the letter of law and the Constitution of India, and any dereliction in their duties will cause untold misery. 

“There is immediate need for an interfaith meeting under your Chairmanship where you as the Prime Minister of an inclusive Bharat should give out a message that India remains a land for all, where faiths have existed together and in harmony for centuries and that no sectarian forces will be permitted to disturb this uniquely pluralistic and diverse legacy. Sir, time is of the essence and we urge you to reassure all Indians, especially the minority communities that your Government will be firm in its resolve to maintain communal amity, harmony and integration.”

The signatories to the letter are:

N. C. Saxena, former Secretary, Planning Commission of India,  Najeeb Jung, former Lt. Governor, Delhi,  Shiv Mukherjee, Former High Commissioner,  Amitabha Pande, former Secretary, Inter-State Council,  S.Y. Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner of India,  Navrekha Sharma, former Ambassador,  Madhu Bhaduri, former Ambassador,  Lt. General Zameeruddin Shah (Retd.),former Vice Chief of the Army Staff,  Ravi Vira Gupta, Former Dy. Governor, RBI,  Raju Sharma, former Member, Board of Revenue, UP,  Saeed Shervani, Entrepreneur-Philanthropist,  Avay Shukla, former Addl. Chief Secy, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh,  Shahid Siddiqui, former editor, Nai Duniya, Subodh Lal, former DDG, Ministry of Communications, Suresh K. Goel, former DG, ICCR,  Aditi Mehta, former Addl. Chief Secretary, Govt. of Rajasthan and  Ashok Sharma, former Ambassador.