Aparna Sen, 28 personalities write open letter in support of Anurag Kashyap: ‘We strongly condemn the threats of violence’

Filmmaker Aparna Sen and actors Parambrata Chatterjee and Kaushik Sen are among the 28 prominent Bengali personalities who have come out in support of filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, who recently quit Twitter after sustained personal threats made to him and his family.

“This is a matter that demands immediate attention. Free speech is the cornerstone of democracy, and Mr Kashyap is one among many today who face the risk of violence for merely expressing an opinion on a public platform,” the open letter states.

Here is a list of signatories:

On August 11, Kashyap announced his decision to quit Twitter after declaring, “When I won’t be allowed to speak my mind without fear, I would rather not speak at all.” The filmmaker had cited personal threats as the reason behind his decision.

“We strongly condemn the threats of violence, which have caused eminent filmmaker Anurag Kashyap to quit the social media platform Twitter. We are in solidarity with him and take this as our cue to raise a serious voice of concern,” the open letter continues. “It has to be resisted by us all. It is our earnest request to every fellow citizen, including those in positions of political and corporate leadership, to stand up against it. It is tearing apart the democratic fabric of our country by trying to silence all dialogues, debate and dissent.”

Kashyap, along with Aparna Sen and 47 others, had written an open letter in June, addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to condemn and punish mob violence and lynchings in the country. “Lynching is a heinous crime. Why should not punishments that are applicable in case of murder be applicable in case of lynchings? The Prime Minister is the highest executive in the country. Who else could we approach?” Aparna Sen had told the media then.

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