Jan 10, 2022: Former Navy chief and senior military commander Arun Prakash has warned that India could move towards civil war as the country’s political leadership has failed to condemn the recent genocidal calls against Muslims by Hindu hardliners.
Leaders of several far-right Hindu groups called for the genocide of minorities in India, especially the country’s 200 million strong Muslim community, in a three-day ‘hate speech conclave’ organized by controversial Hindutva leader Yati Narsingh Nand in December 2021.
In an interview with The Wire, former Admiral Arun Prakash said that the silence of the country’s political leadership on the demands of Muslim genocide and ethnic cleansing “stinks … (and) it should be condemned and severely punished”.
Prakash added that if this continues “there’s bound to be a counter” and “the next step could be conflict”. Asked if this meant India could face a civil war, the former admiral replied: “Yes, indeed”.
The former military commander along with three other former Naval chiefs and a former Indian Air Force chief wrote an open letter to President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 31 about the calls for genocide and ethnic cleansing.
When asked if he received any response from either, he replied, “None so far (and) it’s futile to expect one”.
Discussing how such calls of genocide could affect all three services, especially the military, which includes Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and Sikh soldiers – in fact people belonging to all religions of the country he said: “Think. What’s going on in the minds of the soldiers? Such a conversation would send a message of deep unrest to the armed forces.”
Prakash said not a single former Indian army chief was willing to sign the open letter.
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