New Delhi: As many as 91 retired civil servants Tuesday have called for strong administrative and legal action against Sudarshan News for its proposed television show that claims to expose “infiltration of Muslims” in the civil services.
In a letter addressed to the home minister, minister for information and broadcasting, chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), chief minister of Delhi and chairman of News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA), among others, the retired officers called the show a “communally charged, divisive and sensational series”.
The former civil servants also stated that they were not affiliated with any political party but writing as citizens who are “neutral, impartial and committed to the Constitution of India”.
The signatories of the letter included Shafi Alam, former director general (DG) of the National Crime Records Bureau; Mohinderpal Aulakh, former DG of police (jails) in Punjab; Vappala Balachandran, former special secretary of the Cabinet Secretariat, GoI; S.Y. Quraishi, former election commissioner of India; N.C. Saxena, former secretary of the Planning Commission; and Parveen Talha, former member of the UPSC, among others.
Speaking about the teaser of the alleged expose, which was posted by Sudarshan News Editor-in-Chief Suresh Chavhanke last week, the retired officers asked for stronger action against the channel even though a stay on the show’s telecast was ordered by the Delhi High Court.
“It is completely perverse to allege that there is conspiracy to infiltrate Muslim officers into the services, or to use terms like ‘UPSC jihad’ or ‘Civil Services jihad’ in this connection. These communal and irresponsible statements amount to hate speech and are defamatory of an entire community,” the letter stated.
‘Show’s telecast will add generate hatred toward Muslims’
In the letter, the retired civil servants explained what may happen if the show is allowed to air.
The telecast, they wrote, will generate hatred toward Muslims without any basis and “add fuel” to “allegations of Corona Jihad and Love Jihad” against the community.
It will also tar the UPSC’s reputation “by claiming that it is biased in its recruitment process”.
“The UPSC is one of the few institutions in the country that still enjoys an unblemished reputation for integrity and has enormous credibility with both the government and with the people of India. The telecast will destroy people’s faith in this highly regarded institution,” the letter stated.
It also said that the show will “spread a false belief that a disproportionate number of Muslims are being selected for government services, especially the IAS and IPS”.
Referencing an article by The Indian Express, the letter said that Muslims make up for 3.46 per cent of the country’s 8,417 IAS and IPS officers, much less than the percentage of Muslims in India (14.2 per cent).
“Over the last forty years, the number of Muslim candidates has been going up and down. In fact, there have been years when not a single Muslim candidate was selected in the IAS…,” noted the letter.
The show’s telecast, it added, may encourage other caste, linguistic or regional groups to “look at their rate of success in the civil services examination” which will compromise the UPSC’s credibility.
The letter also said the show’s telecast will malign the reputation of the Jamia Millia Islamia “which has recently been rated as the top central university in India”. The retired officers noted how the central university has been providing “free coaching services to disadvantaged candidates” and the show’s telecast could discourage such initiatives.
Finally, the letter said, the show would divide the civil administration on religious lines and undermine the contributions made by administrators.
‘Offences filed against channel be investigated’
They retired officers have asked the administration that offences filed before the Delhi High Court against Sudarshan News, which include defamation and promoting enmity on grounds of religion, be thoroughly investigated.
They have also asked the information and broadcasting ministry and the NBSA to investigate whether the telecast will fall in contradiction of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation Act) and the Code of Ethics and Broadcasting Standards.
The NHRC, Minorities Commission and the UPSC should take notice of the “vicious hate campaign to malign a particular religion and community through the propagation of slanted news,” stated the letter.
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