A group of 101 former civil servants, organised under the banner of the Constitutional Conduct Group, wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday expressing concern over the recent trend of “majoritarian aggression and belligerence” in Uttarakhand and urged him to act against those inciting hatred and violence against religious minorities.

The group said that systematic efforts have been made to “create new nurseries of hate” that can transform the peaceful region into a “breeding ground for aggressive Hindutva”.

“On September 10, 2024, a hate speech was made in the Dehradun Press Club claiming that a ‘dharma sansad’ will be organised in December 2024,” the group wrote. “It may be recalled that a ‘dharma sansad’ was organized in Haridwar in December 2021, in which a series of genocidal speeches demanded the mass killings and mass rape of Indian Muslims. The call for another ‘dharma sansad’ has now been made by many of the same individuals and Hindus have been asked to arm themselves and treat members of the minority community as ‘enemies of humanity’”.

The former civil servants pointed out that Uttarakhand has recently witnessed attacks and hate speech against minorities in several locations including Chauras, Dehradun, Srinagar, Berinag, Uttarkashi, Karnaprayag, Nandnagar, Tharali, Tilwada, Gauchar, Sonprayag and Haldwani.

Their letter added: “Properties have been damaged and, reportedly, minority families have been forced to flee from their homes. Boards have been put up banning business by Muslim and non-Hindu vendors. A small handful of individuals and organisations – including those involved in the 2021 ‘dharma sansad’ – are responsible for the majority of these incidents.”

“As per our information, these are just five individuals and two organisations…Bajrang Dal and Rashtriya Seva Sangathan,” the former civil servants alleged, accusing the state police of being lenient towards supporters of Hindutva, particularly Yati Narsinghanand.

Narasinghanand, who is the priest of the Dasna Devi temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad, was recently in the news for making an allegedly derogatory comment about Prophet Muhammad during a sermon on September 29, sparking protests by Muslim groups in several cities. Several FIRs were filed against Narsinghanand for alleged hate speech targeting Muslims.

In January 2022, Narsinghanand was arrested after he called for the genocide of Muslims at the “dharma sansad” in Haridwar the previous December.

The former civil servants’ group urged that the Uttarakhand Police be asked to explain their alleged failure to seek cancellation of bail for Yati Narsinghanand and demanded his arrest under the National Security Act for allegedly disrupting public order.

They also noted that while some district officials and police personnel have acted fairly to prevent violence, such efforts were sporadic and insufficient against the apparent broader communal agenda that has taken root in the state.

The Constitutional Conduct Group also pointed out that calls for organising “mahapanchayats” were being made in Uttarakhand to incite communal violence and advocate for the economic boycott and expulsion of Muslim residents.

It said that those who instigated the violence in Uttarkashi district on Thursday were planning to hold a mahapanchayat on November 4. Violent clashes broke out in Uttarkashi town during a rally led by Hindutva groups to demand the demolition of a 55-year-old mosque near the Kashi Vishwanath temple.

There are concerns that if the proposed “dharma sansad” and mahapanchayats are allowed to continue, Uttarakhand could descend into organised violence, the letter cautioned.