In an open letter, a group of students and faculty members from the Indian Institute of Management requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak up against hate speech and caste-based violence in the country.
The signatories said that the PM's silence on these issues was emboldening the hate-filled voices.
"Your silence, Honourable Prime Minister, emboldens the hate-filled voices and threatens the unity and integrity of our country. We request you, Honourable Prime Minister, to stand firm against forces that seek to divide us," the students and the faculty said in their letter.
The letter comes in light of the recent Haridwar Dharam sansad event where some Hindu religious leaders urged people to take up arms against Muslims and called for genocide.
"Hate speeches and calls for violence against communities based on religion/caste identities is unacceptable," the letter said.
The signatories said that even though the Indian Constitution provided the right to practice one's religion in dignity, there was a sense of fear in the country.
"There is a sense of fear in our country now - places of worship, including churches in recent days, are being vandalised, and there have been calls to take arms against our Muslim brothers and sisters. All of this is carried out with impunity and without any fear of due process," they wrote.
"Your silence, Honourable Prime Minister, emboldens the hate-filled voices and threatens the unity and integrity of our country. We request you, Honourable Prime Minister, to stand firm against forces that seek to divide us," the students and the faculty said in their letter.
Letter to PM by students and staff of IIMs by NDTV on Scribd
The letter was signed by 183 signatories, including 13 faculty members, students and faculty members of IIM-Ahmedabad and IIM-Bangalore.
At the Haridwar event, a Hindu religious leader - Sant Kalicharan Maharaj - said that the aim of Islam was to capture the nation through politics.
In the controversial speech, clips of which have gone viral, Kalicharan Maharaj also urged people to elect a "staunch Hindu leader" to "protect" Hinduism.
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