New Delhi [India], December 23 : A group of retired judges, bureaucrats, Army officials and other civil society members have penned an open letter to the "people of Bangladesh" expressing their "increasing alarm" and "deep concern" over the deteriorating situation in the neighbouring country.
The letter was sent in the "sincere hope" that this will help the Bangladesh people and India to continue together along the path of peace, friendship and understanding.
Further, the open letter called for an "immediate end" to attacks on minorities, their properties, adding that this situation is "intolerable and unacceptable" to the people of India.
The letter was sent to the Bangladesh High Commission on Monday morning and bore a total of 685 signatories. These include 19 retired Judges,139 Rtd Bureaucrats including 34 Ambassadors, 300 Vice Chancellors, 192 Rtd Armed forces officers and 35 persons from Civil Society.
192 armed forced official signed the open letter, which includes: Lt Gen- VK Chaturvedi, Lt Gen- Arvind Sharma, Lt Gen- Arun Sahni, Air Marshal- SP Singh, Air Marshal- R C Bajpai, Maj Gen - Dhruv Katoch, Maj Gen - Arun Khanna and many others.
Some of the names of judges, who signed the letter are: Former Judge, Rajastan High Court- RS Rathore, Former Judge Delhi High Court- SN Dhingra, Former Gujarat High Court Judge and Lokayukta, Gujarat- S M Soni, Former Chief Justice Sikkim High Court and Chairman CAT- Permod Kohli, Former Chief Justice Rajasthan High Court- Anil Deo Singh and,many others.
34 Ambassadors includes the names of, Former Foreign Secretary-Kanwal Sibal, Former Ambassador- Bhaswati Mukherjee, IFS, Former Ambassador- Shyamala B. Cowsik, IFS, Former Ambassador- Lakshmi Puri, IFS and 30 more people.
"We are addressing this Open Letter to you, the People of Bangladesh, in the sincere hope that this will help the people of both Bangladesh and India to continue together along the path of peace, friendship and understanding," the open letter reads.
"The people of India view with increasing alarm and concern the deteriorating situation in Bangladesh. The worst brunt of the chaotic situation prevailing in Bangladesh is being borne by the 15 million strong minority communities of Bangladesh, including Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, as well as the Shias, Ahmadiyyas and others. The agenda of the Islamists appears to be to terrorize and drive the religious minority population out of Bangladesh. Hindus and other minority communities across Bangladesh are stoutly resisting such attempts by Islamist groups. They are seeking protection of their rights as citizens of Bangladesh, as assured through the nation's Constitution," it added.
Further the letter also mentioned about the arrest of Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das, who has been arrested on charges of sedition, denied bail without a hearing and his lawyers are facing organized intimidation. He is being denied a free and fair trial.
According to the open letter, "The attacks on minorities in Bangladesh have aroused deep concern in India, which has a long border with Bangladesh. The volatile situation in Bangladesh could spill across borders, disrupt communal harmony and create serious law and order problems in India."
Mentioning about the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, which resulted in the independence of the People of Bangladesh, the open letter highlighted that both nations have strong cultural relations.
"Bangladesh and India have strong cultural affinities, arising from our shared Bengali cultural, linguistic and civilizational heritage. Following the horrifying genocide of the Pakistani army on citizens of erstwhile East Pakistan, regardless of their religion, including on women and children, the people of India fully supported the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. 10 million refugees were hosted by India during that time without any external aid. Indian soldiers fought shoulder to shoulder with the people of Bangladesh. It resulted in the creation of the nation state of Bangladesh based on the belief that Bengali language, culture and civilization was the only bond that mattered to the people of that newly liberated nation," the letter reads.
"In independent Bangladesh, the Constitution adopted in 1972 is built on the four pillars of democracy, nationalism, secularism, and social justice. We, the people of India, urge all individuals and institutions in Bangladesh to work towards restoring democracy and secularism, including the rights of Hindus and other religious minorities," it added.
"This crisis facing Bangladesh can only be overcome through early free, fair and inclusive elections. We call for an immediate end to attacks on minorities, their properties, business establishments and coercion to force them to leave. This situation is intolerable and unacceptable to the people of India," the letter further said.