A group of former civil servants have written to Home Minister Amit Shah, the National Human Rights Commission and others, objecting to the proposed telecast of a “communally charged, divisive” show on Sudarshan News. In the promo of the show in question, Chief Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of Sudarshan News, Suresh Chavhanke, has alleged that there was a “conspiracy” in the “overwhelming” number of Muslim candidates clearing the Union Public Service Commission exams.
The letter, signed by several retired IAS, IPS, IFS and IRS officers, said that even though the Delhi High Court has granted an interim stay on the telecast, “stronger legal and administrative action is warranted.” Calling the allegations and the use of terms like “UPSC Jihad” perverse, the letter said that the program, if telecast, will generate hate against Muslims at a time when hate speech against the community is already prevalent.
91 retired civil servants write to PM,HM etc on divisive show by Sudarshan TV.
— vijaita singh (@vijaita) September 1, 2020
"Over the last 40 years, the no of Muslim candidates has been going up and down..there have been years when not a single Muslim candidate was selected in the IAS..allegations totally unfounded" pic.twitter.com/7JFKUXKDof
“UPSC recruitment processes are widely recognised as being entirely fair, above board and without any bias towards any language, region, religious or other community,” the letter said.
Referring to a report from 2014 in the Indian Express which said that only 3.46 percent of IAS and IPS officers are Muslims, the letter pointed out that this is “far short of the percentage of Muslims in the population, which is 14.2%.” The show, if telecast, would “spread a false belief about a disproportionate increase in the number of Muslims being selected for government services, especially for the IAS and IPS,” the letter said.
The letter also expressed concern that the show would malign the reputation of Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi. In the promo, Suresh Chavhanke had referred to the students of Jamia Millia Islamia as ‘jihadis’.
“Jamia Millia Islamia has, in fact, been fulfilling a major social obligation to the country by offering free coaching services to disadvantaged candidates (Muslims, SCs, STs and women) to help them succeed in the UPSC examinations,” the letter said.
The letter urged the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, as well as the Chief Minister and Commissioner of Police of Delhi, “to order the lodging of FIRs under the relevant legal provisions.” The Jamia Teachers’ Association has also demanded that a criminal defamation suit be filed against “anti-Indian and anti-JMI remarks by traitor Suresh Chavhanke”.
The letter also said that such a telecast “may also persuade other caste, linguistic and regional groups to look at their rate of success in the civil services examination, an examination which should be, and is based on merit,” adding that this will compromise the credibility of UPSC.