The 49-61 celeb ratio: Open letter quizzes at ‘selective outrage’

Mumbai, July 26: Days after 49 celebrities wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing concern over mob lynchings, a counter-letter by 61 eminent personalities questions the 'selective outrage'.

Among the signatories on the latest letter are actor Kangana Ranaut, lyricist Prasoon Joshi, classical dancer and MP Sonal Mansingh, instrumentalist Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, filmmakers Madhur Bhandarkar and Vivek Agnihotri, reports ANI.

The open letter questions the 'selective outrage and false narratives'. It asks why do the celebrities remain silent when tribals and marginalized are targeted by Maoists.

On Wednesday, expressing concern over instances of mob violence in the country, 49 intellectuals, artists and professionals had written an open letter to PM Modi asking him to institute exemplary punishment for the perpetrators of such crimes. "The lynching of Muslims, Dalits and other minorities must be stopped immediately," the letter said.

Later, the Manikarnika protagonist Kangana Ranaut said that, "We are a part of a major shift, things are changing for betterment of the nation and few people are rattled by this. Common people have chosen their leaders, ones who disregard people's will are the ones who have no respect or consideration for democracy."

Signatories to the letter included filmmakers Adoor Gopalkrishnan, Aparna Sen, Mani Ratnam, Shyam Benegal, Ketan Mehta, Gautam Ghose; actors Soumitra Chatterjee, Revathy Asha; author Amit Chaudhuri; historians and academics, Ashis Nandy, Sumit Sarkar, Tanika Sarkar, Partha Chatterjee, Ramchandra Guha; and singer Shubha Mudgal.