On Friday, over 2000 writers and activists in Maharashtra have written a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and congratulated him for his stand on not opening the religious places amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Congratulating him for not succumbing to the pressure by the Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, many writers including Jnanpith awardee writer Bhalchandra Nemade, writer Shanta Gokhale, playwright Jayant Pawar, writer Ranganath Pathare, poet Neerja, scientist Hemachandra Pradhan, former director of the inter-university center for astronomy and astrophysics (IUCAA) Naresh Dadhich, artist Sujit Patwardhan, social activists Subhash Ware and Ashutosh Shirke, activist Mukta Dabholkar, educationist Vidya Patwardhan, activist Pratibha Patil, agriculture expert Miling Murugkar and Sarvoday activist Vijay Diwan were the signatories in the letter.
The letter said,
“All states are fighting the coronavirus pandemic by trying to strike a balance between preventing the spread of the disease and opening up regular activities. But you were burdened with the additional task of countering pressure exerted by the governor to reopen temples and his open opposition to ‘secularism’.”
Letter Lauds Secularism
The letter further said,
“You had two options – think of people’s health or think of their faith. Secularism means standing firmly in favor of people’s physical well being if their faith obstructs it. Article 25 of the Constitution gives the government the authority to curb religious freedom if it obstructs people’s well-being health. We find political use of people’s faith extremely objectionable because, if it succeeds, it can prove dangerous for the future of the devouts.”
“The secular human being believes that the government’s role should be determined by the physical well-being of people. We heartily congratulate you for taking a firm stand in favor of secularism and for having conveyed it clearly to the governor, as we believe it’s difficult to take such a position when it comes to religious faiths.”
Source: Hindustan Times
