Gandhians Hurt over Government's Silence over Divisive Forces

New Delhi, Jan 16 (IANS) Witnessing the danger of India's unity in diversity and the spirit of co-existence getting affected, some Gandhians have expressed their disappointment over the government's silence in such a state of affairs.

In a joint statement, the Gandhians have said while on one hand the government appears to be celebrating "100 years of Gandhi's homecoming", on the other hand some fringe groups or individuals linked to the same government are engaged in a 'homecoming' of a different sort.

Some of these people are trying to set up statues, prepare or show films that could distort the age-old fabric of the country embellished by features of diversity and equality, the joint statement said.

The Gandhians said they were earlier keeping mum despite being saddened.

"We were hoping that this government would respect the mandate it has gained from all quarters of society. But the kind of silence the government has adopted over such disgusting incidents, we felt there was a need to break our silence," the statement added.

"The government has talked about taking along all. There was a mention of a strong, stable government in place of coalition governments. But it seems the people creating instability in society are having a free run."

The statement has been signed by Ram Chandra Rahi, secretary of the National Gandhi Memorial Fund, Pyare Mohan Tripathi, president of the Association of Voluntary Agencies for Rural Development (AVARD), Radha Bhatt, president of the Gandhi Peace Foundation, A. Annamalai, director of the National Gandhi Museum, Anupam Mishra, editor of Gandhian journal 'Gandhi Marg'.