We condemn in the strongest possible terms, the death threats being issued publicly and abuses being heaped on Dr. Ravi Kant, an Academician, well known Dalit Intellectual and Associate Professor of Hindi at the Lucknow University.
Dr Ravi Kant is being targeted for his statement, in a discussion in the well-known online channel Satya TV, about the Gyan Vapi Mosque. All Dr Ravi Kant did was to narrate a story from a book ‘Feathers and Stones’ written by Patabhi Sitaramaiya. Dr Ravi Kant said that he is calling it a story because Patabhi Sitaramaiya has not quoted a source.
Those baying for Dr. Ravi Kant’s blood are the workers belonging to the ABVP, who have surrounded the Department of Hindi, while Dr. Ravi Kant has had to take shelter in the office of the proctor of the University.
We demand that the culprits be brought to book immediately, the atmosphere of debate and dissent, so crucial for an institute of learning and essential for a democratic society be restored immediately and Dr. Ravi Kant and his family be provided all necessary protection.
We view this aggressive display of the ABVP as yet another example of the intolerance and majoritarian sectarianism and violence that is increasingly becoming the norm all over the country, especially in BJP ruled States. We demand that elements giving public calls for extermination and annihilation be reigned in immediately, if we wish to be counted among the comity of civilized nations.
Rooprekha Verma
Vandana Misra
Ramesh Dixit
Madhu Garg
Virendra Yadav
Meena Singh
Nalin Ranjan Singh
Navin Joshi
Athar Husain
Kaushal Kishore
Katyayani
Nadeem Hasnain
Sabiha Anwar
Dipak Kabir
Usha Rai
Arundhati Dhuru
Meena Kala
Asha Misra
Lal Bahadur Singh
Ram Dutt Tripathi
Prabhat Patnaik
Aditya Mukherjee
Rekha Awasthi
Alok Agnihotri Advocate
Indira Arjun Dev
Vishwamohan Jha
Atlury Murali
K. L. Tuteja
Ramakrishna Chatterjee
Lata Singh
P.K. Shukla
V. Ramakrishna
Vikas Rawal
Sheo Dutt
Rajndra Kumar
O.P.Jaiswal
H.C. Satyarthi
Nagendra Sharma
Asad Zaidi
Alok Joshi
Durgesh Chowdhry
Shaira Naim
Shubham Tiwari
Mamta Yadav
Rafat Fatima
Tazeen
Kuldeep Chauhan
Shavez Warsi
Tasneem
Ankita Misra
Chandrasekhar
Ajay Janjwar
Nasira Sharma
Vishnu Shukla
Tanveer Akhtar
Siddharth Kalhans
Ram Kumar
Ashish Awasthi
SR Malik
SN Sahu
Chaman Lal
Atul Sood
Anurag Chaturvedi
Imran Ahmad
Srijanyogi Adiyog
VR Raman
Abha shukla