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      • Open Letter To David Cameron:...
      freedom of expression

      Open Letter To David Cameron: Writers Urge UK Government To Safeguard Freedom Of Expression In India

      By - A Staff Writer |
      Published -  13 Nov 2015 1:47 PM IST
    • Boomlive

      Modi With Cameron_talk

      Prime Minister Modi has a packed schedule during his UK visit - most of it meetings with CEOs and Ministers to encourage investment in India. However, what he will have to contend with is growing international concern over incidents that highlight the rise of intolerance against diverse views.

      To underline this concern, 200 writers including names like Salman Rushdie, Neel Mukherjee and Magi Gibson have penned a letter to British Prime Minister David Cameron urging him to discuss the need for 'freedom of expression' to exist in India. The letter was first published on Pen International.

      Dear Prime Minister

      Re: Urging Action by British government to Safeguard Freedom of Expression in India

      As writers and writers’ organisations committed to protecting and defending freedom of expression around the world, we, the undersigned, are extremely concerned about the rising climate of fear, growing intolerance and violence towards critical voices who challenge orthodoxy or fundamentalism in India. As the three-day state visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the United Kingdom between 12 and 14 November draws near, we urge you to engage with Prime Minister Modi both publicly and privately on this crucial issue. Please speak out on the current state of freedom of expression in his country, urging him to stay true to the spirit of the democratic freedoms enshrined in India’s Constitution.

      As you will no doubt be aware three public intellectuals, Malleshappa Madivalappa Kalburgi, Govind Pansare and Narendra Dabholkar, have been killed by unknown assailants in the last two years alone. At least 37 journalists have been killed in the country since 1992. Other writers have received threats.

      Over the past month, at least 40 Indian novelists, poets and playwrights have returned the prize awarded to them by the Sahitya Akademi, the National Academy of Letters, to protest against these attacks. In their statements, the writers have criticised the Akademi’s silence over the murders, the deteriorating political environment in which those expressing dissent have been attacked by government ministers, and challenged the government to demonstrate tolerance and protect free speech.

      After this, and a silent march by protesting writers, the Akademi issued a statement condemning the murder of Kalburgi and a resolution asking ‘governments at the centre and in the states to take immediate action to bring the culprits to book and ensure the security of writers now and in the future.’ It also requested the writers who had returned awards to reconsider their decisions. Dissenting writers responded to the Akademi saying it should have spoken out much earlier, and urged the Akademi to rethink how it can support ‘writers all over India, and by extension, the people of the country.’ They reminded the Akademi of the urgency, calling the present time a ‘moment of spiralling hatred and intolerance.’ Mr Modi’s government has not yet formally responded to the Akademi’s resolution.

      The protests have grown beyond the community of Indian writers of all languages. Scientists, artists, film-makers, academics, scholars, and actors have either complained the climate of intolerance or returned awards on a scale unprecedented in India.

      In October, Pakistani singer Ghulam Ali had his performance in Mumbai cancelled by the Shiv Sena party, an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The Shiv Sena has said it will not allow any Pakistani artist to perform until the situation in Kashmir has improved. A few days later, Sudheendra Kulkarni, chairman of Observer Research Foundation, was attacked by Shiv Sena activists and smeared with black paint for hosting the book launch of former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri’s book launch and refusing to cancel it.

      India’s Constitution recognises freedom of expression as a cornerstone of India’s democracy; however despite its constitutional commitments, India’s legal system makes it surprisingly easy to silence others. In a report earlier this year, PEN and the International Human Rights Programme (IHRP) at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law outlined the overreaching legislation and longstanding problems with the administration of justice, which have produced cumbersome legal processes that deter citizens from exercising their right to free expression. The resulting chilling effect silences political criticism and often discourages marginal voices from speaking out on sensitive social, cultural, and religious matters.

      In line with the United Kingdom’s stated commitment to promoting human rights, we ask that you raise the above issues with Prime Minister Modi and urge him to provide better protection for writers, artists and other critical voices and ensure that freedom of speech is safeguarded. Without these protections a democratic, peaceful society is not possible.

      The names of the undersigned:

      Raficq Abdulla

      Jim Aitken

      Lee Allane

      Maggie Anderson

      Kate Armstrong

      Alan Ayckbourn

      Sally Baker, Director, Wales PEN Cymru

      Marion Baraitser

      Marge Berer

      Terence Blacker

      Ricky Brown

      Peter Buckman

      Tom Bullough

      Katie Burden

      Jim Burnside

      Maoilios Caimbeul

      Jenni Calder, Membership Secretary, Scottish PEN

      Fiona Cameron

      Drew Campbell, President, Scottish PEN

      Joyce Caplan

      Aimee Chalmers

      Regi Claire

      Anne Clarke

      Jennifer Clement, President, PEN International

      Jo Clifford

      Ken Cockburn

      Anne Connolly

      Michael Connor

      Nicki Cornwell

      Christine Crow

      Manishita Dass

      Suzy Davies

      Christine De Luca

      Patrick Dobbs

      Colin Donati

      Sasha Dugdale

      William Duncan

      Anne Dunford

      Jonathan Edwards

      Suzanne Egerton

      Dorothy-Grace Elder

      Menna Elfyn, President, Wales PEN Cymru

      Moris Farhi

      Penelope Farmer

      Vicki Feaver

      Euna Fisher

      Matthew Fitt

      Una Flett

      Steven Fowler

      Miranda France

      Lindsey Fraser

      Maureen Freely, President, English PEN

      Vivian French

      Leah Fritz

      Iain Galbraith

      Omar Garcia

      Alan Gay

      Maitreesh Ghatak

      Magi Gibson

      Anne Lorne Gillies

      Brian Girvin

      Jo Glanville, Director, English PEN

      Fiona Graham, Vice President, Scottish PEN

      Niall Griffiths

      Jay Griffiths

      Bishnupriya Gupta

      Daniel Hahn

      Georgina Hammick

      Ann Harrison, Director, Freedom to Write Programme, PEN International

      David Harrower

      Jonathan Heawood

      Mairi Hedderwick

      Joy Hendry

      Diana Hendry

      Daisy Hirst

      John William Hodgson

      Eva Hoffman

      Amanda Hopkinson

      Sarah Howard

      Sunny Hundal

      Brian Johnstone

      Alice Jolly

      Carole Jones

      Sally Roberts Jones

      Beth Junor

      Meena Kandasamy

      Nitasha Kaul

      Peter Kerr

      Andrew Kidd

      Hari Kunzru

      Nikita Lalwani

      Lee Langley

      Joanne Leedom-Ackerman

      Thomas Legendre

      Joan Lennon

      Paul Levy

      Gwyneth Lewis

      Marina Lewycka

      Jean Liddiard

      David Lodge

      Sarah Lutyens

      Pauline Lynch

      Neil Mac Neil

      Ian Macdonald

      Carl MacDougall

      Shena Mackay

      Iseabail Macleod

      Aonghas MacNeacail

      Iain Maloney

      Colin Manlove

      Karen Margolis

      Robyn Marsack

      Henry Marsh

      Annabelle May

      Val McDermid

      David McDonald

      David McDowall

      Ian McEwan

      Sarah McIntosh

      Sophie McKeand

      Pauline Melville

      Greg Michaelson

      Paul Moore

      Cathy Moore

      David Morgan

      Neel Mukherjee

      Anne Murray

      Rebekah Murrell

      Maureen Myant

      Beverley Naidoo

      Liz Niven

      Katharine Norbury

      Georgina Norie

      Heather Norman-Soderlind

      Claire O’Kell

      Ruth Padel

      Simin Patel

      Penny Perrick

      Catherine Peters

      Rosemary Phipps

      Naomi Popple

      Tom Pow

      Chris Powici

      Angharad Price

      Faith Pullin, Chair of Women Writers Committee, Scottish PEN

      Anna Purser

      Jean Rafferty, Chair of Writers at Risk Committee, Scottish PEN

      Monisha Rajesh

      Ravinder Randhawa

      Lynne Reid Banks

      Elizabeth Rimmer

      Fiona Rintoul

      Prof Richard H Roberts

      Ferial Rogers

      Lesley Anne Rose

      Sioned Rowlands

      Salman Rushdie

      Michael Russell

      Gita Sahgal

      Angela Saini

      Chrys Salt MBE

      Philippe Sands

      Ros Schwartz

      Andrew Sclater

      Lawrence Scott

      Robert Sharp

      Owen Sheers, Chair, PEN Wales Cymru

      Sara Sheridan

      Nikesh Shukla

      Salma Siddique

      Francesca Simon

      Penny Simpson

      Joan Smith

      Dennis Smith

      Nicola Spurr

      Tom Stacey

      Anne Stevenson

      Leslie Stevenson

      Anne Stokes

      Zoe Strachan

      Lynsey Sutherland

      Aniko Szilagyi

      Mary Taylor

      Carl Tighe

      Carles Torner, Executive Director, PEN International

      Hannah Trevarthen

      Jonathan Trigell

      Salil Tripathi, Chair of the Writers in Prison Committee, PEN International

      Mirza Waheed

      Jehanne Wake

      Harriet Walter

      Lynnda Wardle

      Val Warner

      Eleanor Watts

      Nicola White

      Zoe Wicomb

      Colin Will

      Karina Williamson

      Les Wilson

      Fiona Wilson

      Peter Wood Cotterill

      Tags

      David CameronFreedom of ExpressionGovind PansareMagi GibsonMM KalburgiNeel MukherjeeSalman RushdieNarendra Modi
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