A group of concerned citizens, including several leading writers and activists, and the People’s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL) have written to the Chief Minister and the Governor urging them to ensure there is no bar on non-Hindu traders at temple car festivals and protect the Right to Education of Muslim students. In both letters, they argue that any such social boycott based on religion is “unconstitutional”.
“In this State where we sing everyday calling it sarva janangada shantiya tota as part of the State anthem, religion is being deliberately used to create hatred shamelessly,” a letter from a group of citizens, including K. Marulasiddappa, Vijaya, S.G. Siddaramaiah, and Purushottam Bilimale, among 61 signatories, said.
The letter alleged that several arenas of syncretic culture and communal harmony were deliberately being corrupted for political ends. “In these tough times of the pandemic, when unemployment and underemployment have hit the populace hard, it is ironic that the Government is not acting against these boycotts, but in fact defending them,” the letter said, adding that the State Government needs to be reminded that it was duty bound to maintain peace and harmony, and not disrupt it.
