“At least six judicial commissions of inquiry into major episodes of communal violence – the Jaganmohan Reddy report on the Ahmedabad riots of 1969; the D.P. Madon report on the Bhiwandi riots in 1970; the Vithayathil report on the Tellicherry riots in 1971; the Jitendra Narain report on the Jamshedpur riots in 1979; the P. Venugopal report on the Kanyakumari riots of 1982; and the report on the Bhagalpur riots in 1989 – have explicitly indicted organisations and parties having strong affinities with the ideology of the RSS for their role in these major communal flare-ups that resulted in extensive loss of life and property of Muslim and other citizens,” the letter pointed out.The former civil servants expressed their concern with regard to how the order by the government will reflect on civil services during communal or caste mass violence.”In such times, the role of the district magistrate and the police leadership is decisive. If these public officers are free from religious and caste prejudices, if they are courageous, compassionate and fair, they can douse, in a matter of hours, the most fearsome fires of communal and caste savagery. But instead, if they buckle under illegal orders from their political superiors or, worse still, if they, too, are tainted by communal or caste bias, they would bear direct responsibility for the ensuing violence entailing the loss of innocent lives and livelihoods,” they said.The letter stressed that it is crucial for a civil servant and the police to adhere to the constitutional values of protecting the life and liberty of all religious and caste minorities.”For a fair discharge of these duties, civil servants must, at all times, demonstrate their humanism, impartiality and adherence to the values enshrined in the Constitution of India,” the letter noted.The letter also “regretfully” mentioned the remarks passed by several High Court judges declaring their affinity to RSS, before their retirement.The former civil servant’s group also denounced the notion of RSS being a cultural and not a political organization throwing light at its ideological origin and its association with the BJP.”Literally millions of RSS members openly campaign for the BJP in every state and national election. How then can the integrity of the electoral process be assured when Chief Election Commissioners, Returning Officers and all others tasked with organising a fair election can be members of an organisation which is strongly aligned to one particular political party?” they asked.Citing India’s first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s remark on civil services being the “steel frame” of the country, the group in its letter urged the government to withdraw the order immediately reiterating that otherwise the decision has the potential to “cause enormous detriment to the soul of the Constitution.”
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