By Waquar Hasan
NEW DELHI – A group of prominent intellectuals, former civil servants, academics, journalists and public figures have written to the Gauhati High Court, urging it to take suo motu cognisance of repeated instances of hate speech, executive interference, open vilification of Muslims and constitutional violations by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
In a detailed representation addressed to the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court on Thursday, the signatories said they were approaching the court “with profound faith in the constitutional role of the Hon’ble Gauhati High Court as guardian of the fundamental rights.”
The letter pointed out that a series of public statements made by the Chief Minister amount to “hate speech, executive intimidation, and open vilification of a particular community commonly referred to as the ‘Miyan’ or Bengal origin Muslim community.”
“These statements, delivered repeatedly in public forums, go far beyond political rhetoric and enter the prohibited constitutional zone of dehumanisation, collective stigmatisation, and threats of state-sponsored harassment,” the representation states.
Scholar Dr. Hiren Gohain, former Assam DGP Harekrishna Deka, former Guwahati Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil, Rajya Sabha MP Ajit Kumar Bhuyan, former IAS officer D.N. Saikia are among the signatories. A copy of the letter is with the The Hindustan Gazette.
The signatories have specifically highlighted a controversial statement made by the Chief Minister, alleging it amounted to instigation of social and economic harm.
The letter quoted the controversial statement made by Sarma in which he had said “Whoever can, in whichever way should make Miyan suffer. If you board a rickshaw, if the fare is ₹5, pay them ₹4.”
This story was originally published in thehindustangazette.com. Read the full story here.