An Open Letter To The Prime Minister

It is indeed witha heavy heart that I write to my Prime Minister at this time. The recent happenings in Gujarat have completely shaken my confidence inthe Government and its capacity to uphold and protect a democratic and secularIndia.

Growing up inDelhi as a young boy, the senseless slaughter of innocent human beings in 1947are still vivid in my mind. To seethe same happen once again in the year 2002 has been shattering .The entirenation is shocked at the callousness and inefficiency displayed by the law andorder machinery of the Government of Gujarat, which not only failed to performits duty to its citizens, but also stood by and in several cases actuallyincited what can best be described as a ‘pogrom’. Compare this to the sceneindelibly imprinted on my mind, when I saw Mr Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Ministerof India, hop out of an official car and chase away looters and rioters, whowere killing Muslims and looting their properties in Connaught Place in August 1947. He had the courage to intervene personally at that timecompletely disregarding his own safety.

The democratic andsecular traditions of India have been severely endangered by the recent events.In addition, the carnage in Gujarat has created an increasingly negative imageof India among people in many parts of the world. Clearly this appears to be the culmination of a planned series of attackson our minority communities by the extremists within the Sangh Parivar. Theentire list is too long to cite here, but to name only a few, the past decadehas witnessed the destruction of the Babri Masjid in 1992, which led to theMumbai bomb blasts and the subsequent massacre of innocent Muslims; the burningalive of Father Staines and his sons in Orissa; and the attacks on Christiansand their places of worship in Gujarat and elsewhere. Till today none of thoseresponsible for these acts have been brought to book. It would therefore appearthat the government is not serious about bringing the guilty to trial, which isemboldening them to do what they have done in Gujarat.

I am also painedto observe that judging from newspaper reports no one of any stature from thecentral government has so far visited the affected areas to sympathise with thevictims of Gujarat. The media has reported that even in the allocation ofcompensation for those killed, the Chief Minister of Gujarat has thought it fitto discriminate between the two communities. If true, this is unacceptable andneeds to be rectified immediately.

I joined the Navyat the age of fifteen after appearing before a Selection Board just a few monthsafter Independence. My growth inthe Navy has coincided with that of the country and I rose to head the IndianNavy from 1990.to 1993. We have had many distinguished servicemen from theminority communities who have reached the highest ranks in the service.

To name a few:Field Marshal Manekshaw, Marshal of the Air Force, Arjan Singh, Air ChiefMarshal Idris Latif, Admirals Cursetji, Pereira and Dawson - all Chiefs of theIndian Navy; the Keelor brothers of the Air Force who both won the MahavirChakra; Brigadier Usman, decorated posthumously with the Mahavir Chakra, LanceNaik Albert Ekka – Param Vir Chakra (posthumous), and men like my ownsteward, M.Ali, who served me faithfully while I was commanding INS Beas in the1971 operations.

The IndianArmed Forces have always been one of the strongest pillars of our seculardemocracy. They have maintained their political neutrality and have respectedcivil authority since Independence despite trends to the contrary in ourimmediate neighbourhood. They represent a micro-cosm of the diversity of Indiawhich has always been its strength. Over the years India has witnessed thesteady process of communalization and politicization of our bureaucracy and thepolice. It would be a tragedy indeed if these processes were to affectthe armed forces of this land. This could herald a potentially disastrous andunmanageable situation where our uniformed personnel could find themselves inopposing camps with all its attendant dangers.

Our nation hasevolved over the past many thousand years due to the contribution of allsections of society irrespective of their religion, caste or creed. India has always had the courage and the self-confidence to provide allpeople with the space to co-exist in peace with one another. The present attempts in some quarters to give it an exclusively `Hindu’image is to do a grave injustice to our composite history and heritage. IfSIMI could be banned, I see no difficulty in doing likewise for the groups likethe VHP,Bajrang Dal and others whose acts of wanton violence are no lessoffensive, anti national and anti people.

The statedintention of the VHP to go ahead with its plans at Ayodhya on March 15^thare ominous indeed. The government must intervene immediately to ensure that theplanned `symbolic’ Bhoomi Puja does not take place. Permitting this nowwould only lend weight to any subsequent claim for commencing construction ofthe temple. I would therefore urge that all parties await the decision of theSupreme Court about the entire case.

In order todemonstrate our will to uphold our Constitution I would recommend the followingactions by the Government :

Constitute a Commission of Enquiry by a Bench of three sitting judgesfrom the Supreme Court of India to look into the entire sequence of eventsbeginning with the tragedy on the train to the subsequent massacre of minoritiesin Gujarat.

Bring to book all the guilty persons including politicians, bureaucratsand police personnel who have been directly responsible for dereliction of duty.
Dismiss Shri Mody as Chief Minister of Gujarat for his hand in the ethniccleansing he has orchestrated and impose Presidents Rule in the State.
Ban extremist rightwing organizations like the VHP, Bajrang Dal , and theRSS as has been done with SIMI.
The planned Bhoomi Puja should not be permitted in Ayodhya
Set up refugee camps immediately for those who have been dispossessed andinitiate a rehabilitation programme that provides neccessary resources,including issue of ration card, to all those displaced from their homes.
Compensation to the families of all victims should be equitable withoutany discrimination on the basis of community.