Pledge to resist intolerance

Safdar Hashmi was fatally attacked while his street theatre group, Jana Natya Manch, was performing a play at Sahibabad on January 1, 1989. The attackers, criminals with political patronage, despite being clearly identified, have not yet been punished.

We condemn the unchecked rise in the criminalisation of our social-political life, in which artists and art-practices are being increasingly targeted. We stand against all forces inimical to secular and plural values.

That artists, intellectuals and others have come together in protest against such forces, is the source of our strength. We assert that we will continue to resist intolerance towards creative cultural and intellectual endeavour.

Signed by artists, scholars and concerned citizens

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