In view of the recent hate speech incident in Haridwar where a few men robed in saffron were seen spreading venom against Muslims, the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) has publicly condemned the act and cautioned against “exaggerating” the rantings by fringe elements as the sentiments prevailing at the national level. If that happens, then the political leanings and moral integrity of the critics must be questioned, the IFS said in a public statement.
It stressed that all calls for violence must be “unequivocally” condemned irrespective of their religion, ethnicity, ideology or region. “Double standards and selectivity in condemnation raises questions about motives and morality,” it said.
The IFS also said some journalists, speaking to the international media, have exposed their political bias by using terms like ‘genocide’ to describe the impact on a particular community. On a media platform in the Gulf countries, they have ranted about “countless mosques destroyed, countless Muslims killed, the third largest Muslim population in the world targeted for ‘genocide’” in India and more in the same vein.
Frenzied fears have been dubbed as “irreversible fragmentation and disintegration of the country”, by what is described as brazen and violent against minorities in north India. However, the historical wrongs against the Hindu community have been dismissed as “flimsy”.
The statement also rebuked a few retired bureaucrats and former generals and admirals to paint a “crisis scenario” in the country and for losing “so easily a sense of judgment” after retirement. “India’s national security is not as much threatened, in the eyes of the signatories to the appeal, by Pakistan and China as by a handful of sundry Hindu activists saying some nasty things about the minorities in some forum of little importance and aggressively asserting their Hindu identity.”
“This cabal of anti-Modi government activists deliberately ignore anything positive that the Modi government has done as it does not suit their personal and political agendas.”
It also threw light upon arm-chair critics who chose to ignore calls for violence and threats made by mainstream political figures “needing only 15 minutes” to wipe the entire majority community. Another party had incited people from one community to come together “to create four mini Pakistans in India”. One-sided lessons to Hindus on securalism will not help build a secular India.
Around 32 Ambassadors, including former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal have signed the appeal to stop all kinds of hate speech “with equal strength and determination”.
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