GUWAHATI: More than 300 celebrities have signed an open letter while expressing their solidarity with the students who have been protesting relentlessly against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).
There are over 300 signatories to the letter which include filmmakers and veteran Bollywood actors such as Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Javed Jafferi, Nandita Das and Mira Nair among others.
The letter claimed that they are aware that few of them had remained ‘silent’ in the ‘face of injustice’ and said that, “The gravity of this moment demands that each of us stand for our principles.”
The letter stated “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.”
“We stand in solidarity with the students and others who are protesting and speaking out against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and against the National Register of Citizens (NRC). We salute their collective cry for upholding the principles of the Constitution of India, with its promise of a plural and diverse society.”
It further said, “In Assam and the Northeast, and in Kashmir, the indigenous identity and livelihood is threatened as never before, and we will not condone it. The response of the government and law-enforcement agencies to the distress of its citizens has been callous and high-handed.”
The letter also mentioned that India had seen the most internet shutdowns of any democracy in the world and that several citizens have been also killed while protesting.
