Former navy chief Admiral L Ramdas wrote an open later to President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urges them to take strict notice of recent events of intolerance.
In the letter, dated October 22, Ramdas says that “As a veteran Indian in my 80s, my head hangs in shame as I witness a series of incidents and assaults on our fellow citizens, especially recent attacks of extremist on minorities and Dalits”.
Ramdas joined navy at the age of 15 and headed it from 1990 to 1993. He has won a Magsaysay award for peace in 2004.
Ramdas has regretted that those in power have not condemned the assaults and have not taken the step to curb the communal violence. He urges PM to restore the people’s faith in democracy.
According to The Telegraph, in the letter said that he believes these recent occurrences are rooted in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s ideology of creating a Hindu ‘Rashtra.’
“Today, a Muslim has to prove his or her loyalty, and they are being repeatedly put in a situation where their places of worship are under attack, as indeed their eating habits, and other basic freedoms,” the Rtd. Admiral’s letter reads.
India’s distinctiveness and diversity could probably never be replicated anywhere else and, therefore, the concept of a “single religious identity or a mono culture” is an “insult to this ancient civilisation”.
Ramdas says the failure of the Prime Minister and the state govt to denounce the violence and intimidation is a “serious” matter that does not “augur well either for national security or national integrity”. He has reminded them of their oath to uphold the Constitution.