The events in Varanasi over the last fortnight confirm our worst fears that the administration under the BJP government has become an instrument in the hands of the fascist hordes. This is a consequence of the green signal given by the U.P. and Gujarat governments, supported by the Prime Minister and the Home Minister giving a clean chit to the RSS.

The abject surrender of the BJP government of Uttar Pradesh in the face of the threat issued by the RSS organizations to the unit of the film Water, its actors and director, is an unacceptable demonstration of the government’s capitulation in the face of the lawlessness unleashed by the Kashi Sanskrit Raksha Sangharsh Samiti (KSRSS).

The statement of the U.P. Chief Minister asking victims of fundamentalist intolerance and violence to leave Varanasi poses a

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threat to the democratic and constitutional rights of all law-abiding citizens.

Through this dharna of artists, scholars and concerned citizens, we reiterate our resolve not to let it pass.

Signed, among others, by:
Ahmad Patel, Alok Dhanwa, Anjolie Ela Menon, Anuradha Chenoy, Arpana Caur, Arpita Singh, Chanchal Chauhan, D. Raja, Dinesh Abrol, Gauhar Raza, Gautam Navlakha, Geeta Kapur, Humra Quraishi, Ian Lal, Indira Chandrasekhar, Javed Naqvi, Kamal Mitra Chenoy, Kamna Prasad, Madhu Prasad, M.K. Raina, N.K. Sharma, Pankaj Butalia, Parthiv Shah, Prabhat Patnaik, Prabir Purkayastha, Praful Bidwai, Rajendra Prasad, Ram Rahman, Romi Chopra, Shabnam Hashmi, Shamshad, Sharan Apparao, Sheba Chhachhi, Sitaram Yechury, Sohail Hashmi, Suneet Chopra, Tani Bhargava, Vivan Sundaram, Zoya Hasan