CHENNAI: After writers, scientists have now spoken out against the spread of intolerance and communal hatred in India. In a petition to the President, they have warned that this statement may be followed by stronger actions “akin to the award winners of Sahitya Akademi.”

A group of scientists from academic institutions across the country and abroad have signed a petition addressed to the President expressing their concern over recent incidents of intolerance, polarization and spread of communal hatred resulting in the death of innocent people and rationalists.

The petition was generated based on a web-based campaign. In the letter, the scientists say they “strongly condemn” the atrocities and “join the protest of littérateurs in awakening people and the central and state governments to the dangers of not acting.”

They urged the President to take “serious note of these developments” and initiate suitable actions.

The letter has stated that peace and harmony of the country is being “threatened by a rash of sectarian and bigoted acts that have recently escalated.”

Comparing a highly polarised community to “a nuclear bomb close to criticality,” the letter states that the situation can “explode any time and drive the nation to utter chaos.”

The scientists urged the government to take the strictest action against those who are victimising and killing “innocent people for eating beef, sensible people for being against superstition, RTI activists or whistle blowers and many more innocent people with human values.”

Describing these acts as “anti-human and anti-civilizational,” the letter states that people who even suggest these actions should be dealt with punishment “beyond that reserved for anti-national activity."

Signatories include former director of the Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA, Pune) Naresh Dadhich, Varun Sahni of IUCAA, former director of the Harish-Chandra Research Institute (Allahabad) H S Mani, Tabish Qureshi of Jamia Millia Islamia (New Delhi) and scientists and academics from JNU, Institute of Physics (Bhubaneswar), IITs and other leading institutions.

Signatories from Chennai include T R Govindarajan, emeritus professor at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc) in Chennai and Professor at Chennai Mathematical Institute, G Rajasekaran, former joint director of IMSc, Chennai, G Baskaran, emeritus professor, IMSc, and IIT Madras professors Suresh Govindarajan and Dawood Kothawala.

