Published 12:43 IST, January 26th 2020
Over 300 celebrities pen open letter opposing CAA/NRC, agree to have stayed 'silent'
Over 300 artists, including filmmakers and veteran Bollywood actors such as Naseeruddin Shah & Jaaved Jafferi have written an open letter opposing CAA/NRC bill
Advertisement
Over 300 artists, including filmmakers and veteran Bollywood actors such as Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Jaaved Jafferi, Nandita Das, Mira Nair among others have signed an open letter standing in solidarity with the students who have been protesting incessantly against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Celebs pen an open letter opposing CAA-NRC
Saluting the student's collective cry for upholding the principles of the Constitution of India, the letter stated, "The policies and actions of the present government, passed quickly through Parliament and without opportunity for public dissent or open discussion, are antithetical to the principle of a secular, inclusive nation. The soul of the nation is threatened".
Claiming to be aware that a few of them have remained 'silent' in the 'face of injustice', the open letter stated that, "The gravity of this moment demands that each of us stand for our principles.”
Further pinpointing the loophole in the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the one-page document stated that the ones who have been deemed 'illegal' through NRC may be eligible for citizenship under the CAA unless they are Muslim. Questioning the objective of the government, the letter asks why the minorities from neighbouring areas such as Sri Lanka, China and Myanmar have been excluded.
Read the rest of the open letter below:
Several citizens have been killed while protesting. Many more have been placed in preventive detention. Section 144 has been imposed in numerous states to curb protests. We need to look no further than Kashmir to see how far this government is willing to go to suppress democratic dissent. Kashmir is now living under the longest Internet shutdown ever imposed by a democratic government. Enough is enough. Those of us who have been quiet in the past, our silence ends now. We will be clear-sighted in our dissent. Like our freedom fighters before us, we stand for a secular and inclusive vision of India. We stand with those who bravely oppose anti-Muslim and divisive policies. We stand with those who stand up for democracy. We will be with you on our streets and across all our platforms. We are in solidarity.”
12:43 IST, January 26th 2020