Here are all the details

The one thing everyone is talking about is the upcoming General Elections. After the constant banter on social media, over 200 writers have come together to urge the citizens of India to vote out 'hate politics.' With prominent names including Arundhati Roy, Amitav Ghosh, Girish Karnad, Romila Thapar, Vivek Shanbhag, Ania Loomba have come together to write an appeal on the India Cultural Forum to share their perspective. The statement begins by saying, "The upcoming election finds our country at the crossroads. Our Constitution guarantees all its citizens equal rights, the freedom to eat, pray and live as they choose, freedom of expression and the right to dissent."

A statement released by the signatories stated, "In the last few years, we have seen citizens being lynched or assaulted or discriminated against because of their community, caste, gender or the region they come from. Hate politics has been used to divide the country; create fear; and exclude more and more people from living as full-fledged citizens. Writers, artists, filmmakers, musicians and other cultural practitioners have been hounded, intimidated and censored. Anyone who questions the powers-that-be is in danger of being harassed or arrested on false and ridiculous charges." It goes on to elaborate, "All of us want this to change. We don't want rationalists, writers and activists to be hounded or assassinated."

Without mentioning the name of any party, the concluding statement read, "The first step, the one we can take soon, is to vote out hate politics. Vote out the division of our people; vote out inequality; vote against violence, intimidation, and censorship. This is the only way we can vote for an India that renews the promises made by our Constitution."

The 2019 General Elections will be held in seven phases from April 11 to May 19 with the votes being counted on May 23. Stay tuned for all the updates.