Attempts to Defame Muslim Soldiers Are Acts of Treason: Former Civil Servants Say in Open Letter

A group of former civil servants have written an open letter condemning the defaming of soldiers of the Muslim faith who are part of the armed forces of India. They have also expressed their full support to the veterans who had written to the President of the country seeking redress against this “malicious campaign of calumny against the soldiers” of a particular faith.

The signatories to the open letter, which include several former chief secretaries of states and secretaries of departments under the central government, have said that such attempts of defaming and dividing the armed forces can “be termed as acts of treason”. The letter further adds that at a time when assaults on the dignity of Muslim citizens of the country have become commonplace, “this particular theme which casts doubts on the loyalty of Muslim soldiers has wider implications which could have serious repercussions on our security and on fields of battle”.

Highlighting the veterans’ letter, they state that there was no such Muslim regiment as alleged. Therefore, they demand that an investigation should be carried out to find the antecedents of individuals who have made ‘Muslim Regiment’ post and they should be charged for anti-national activities. They have also demanded that the investigative agencies look into whether “elements that have been pursuing a hate cum polarising agenda in the country are deliberately propagating this fake news with a view to causing divisions in our armed forces, weakening our national resolve and security”.

The complete letter is produced below.

AN OPEN LETTER SEEKING INVESTIGATION INTO THE MALICIOUS CAMPAIGN OF CALUMNY AGAINST SOLDIERS OF THE MUSLIM FAITH IN THE INDIAN ARMED FORCES

21 October 2020

We are a group of former civil servants of the All India and Central Services, who have worked for decades with Central and State Governments in the course of our careers. As a group, we have no affiliation with any political party but believe in the credo of impartiality, neutrality and commitment to the Indian Constitution. We continue to uphold the oath of allegiance to our Constitution we took when we entered service.

We are deeply disturbed to note the malicious campaign of calumny against soldiers of the Muslim faith in the armed forces of India which has caused distinguished Veterans of our armed forces to petition the Hon’ble President of India, who is also the Supreme Commander of our armed forces, seeking redress. The contents of the letter have been widely publicized and a sample is noted below:

(https://thewire.in/communalism/muslim-regiment-armed-forces-veterans-open-letter-president)

The letter from the Veterans points out that there was no such Muslim regiment in the first place. It forcefully establishes that the charges of dereliction of duty or disloyalty laid against Muslim troops in false social media posts, which have been named, have no basis whatsoever. We support the requests of the Veterans, namely: 1. Investigate the antecedents of individuals who have made ‘Muslim Regiment’ post. 2. Identify & charge individuals who have made the post, for anti-national activities. 3. Issue warning to Facebook & Twitter who have enabled these posts. 4. Issue instructions to all state governments that generation of such false & seditious messages in social media should be acted upon with alacrity.

While assaults against the dignity of our Muslim citizens, as indeed physical assaults, are becoming commonplace, this particular theme which casts doubts on the loyalty of Muslim soldiers has wider implications which could have serious repercussions on our security and on fields of battle. At a time, particularly, when India is facing grave external threats, attempts to divide the armed forces could well be termed acts of treason.

We, the undersigned, would therefore urge that our armed forces as also the Government of India take cognizance of these fake news and issue suitable statements to negate the efforts to sully the image of our forces and our country. As the Veterans have significantly pointed out, “the public assumes that it is the truth, especially when there is no official action against the perpetrators.”

We further demand that appropriate investigative agencies be urgently tasked to thoroughly investigate and determine whether elements that have been pursuing a hate cum polarising agenda in the country are deliberately propagating this fake news with a view to causing divisions in our armed forces, weakening our national resolve and security.

SATYAMEVA JAYATE

(91 signatories, as below)