The first major assault on the secular fabric of independent India was made 50 years ago when religious bigots assaulted Mahatma Gandhi, the mightiest symbol of the pluralism of our national culture.

The demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on December 1992 by these very forces was the further attack, an open declaration of war even, on the essential unity of India and the pluralistic character of Indian society.

Any advance of the communal forces will divide the Indian people, weaken

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national unity and fracture our cultural heritage along religious lines. As against this, any constructive vision regarding the future of our country entails defending the heritage of our national movement and the secular, composite character of our culture.

Let us, then, who believe in such a future for India, make a pledge to fight unitedly and with all our strength, the divisive forces of communalism.

Signed by artists, scholars and concerned citizens