By Muslim Mirror Desk
New Delhi : More than 200 prominent writers issued an appeal on Monday to Indians masses to vote out Modi in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and vote for a “diverse and equal India”.
The writers include Girish Karnad, Arundhati Roy, Amitav Ghosh, Bama, Nayantara Sahgal, TM Krishna, Vivek Shanbhag, Jeet Thayil, K Satchidanandan , Romila Thapar, Zoya Hasan, Harsh Mander and Apoorvanand Jha.
The writers issued the appeal in English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Urdu, Bangla, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu languages.
“In the last few years, we have seen citizens being lynched or assaulted or discriminated against because of their community, caste, gender, or the region they come from. Hate politics has been used to divide the country; create fear; and exclude more and more people from living as full-fledged citizens,” reads the joint statement issued by 210 influential writers.
“Our Constitution guarantees all its citizens equal rights, the freedom to eat, pray and live as they choose, freedom of expression and the right to dissent,” noted 210 signatories.
They said hate politics has been used to divide India. “Writers, artists, filmmakers, musicians and other cultural practitioners have been hounded, intimidated, and censored,” they alleged. “Anyone who questions the powers-that-be is in danger of being harassed or arrested on false and ridiculous charges.”
The writers said there is a need for strong measures to combat violence against women, Dalits, adivasis and minorities. “We want resources and measures for jobs, education, research, healthcare and equal opportunities for all,” they said. “Most of all, we want to safeguard our diversity and let democracy flourish.”
The signatories said that voting out hate politics is the “critical first step”. “Vote out the division of our people, vote out inequality, vote against violence, intimidation and censorship,” they said. “This is the only way we can vote for an India that renews the promises made by our Constitution.”
This came after 100 filmmakers appealed to vote against the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Lok Sabh elections is going to be held from 11 April to 19 in seven phases and the counting will be 23 May.