“The risk of genocide in India is no longer close to zero,” read an open letter by 17 current and former faculty members of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, urging the leaders of corporate India to “de-fund” the misinformation and hate speech spread through news channels and social media. 

The letter demanded that the companies should stop funding news media that “air hateful or genocidal content” through advertisements or donations, and conduct an internal audit to this effect, besides ensuring inclusive and sensitised work culture.

Pointing to the “alarming use” of dehumanising and “demonising” language against minorities, it said that over the years, it has become “common practice” to exhibit hate towards minorities on television news and social media.

It said India’s internal security situation was “fragile” and there was an “increasing risk of violent conflicts” in the country, posing a concern for corporate India. It said that the rising hate crimes against minorities, “police inaction” in recent communal riots and the acquittal of those accused of severe crimes of rape and mass murder in such riots signal towards the “government’s complacency”.  

“In the worst case, such acts of violence could culminate into a genocide, which would annihilate the social fabric as well as the economy of the country, casting a long shadow over India’s future… corporate India cannot afford to live with even a small possibility of such a scenario,” the letter read. 

“We would like to believe that the risk of such large-scale violent conflict in India is still small. However, this risk is no longer close to zero, as the rapidly increasing levels of radicalisation of citizens are fermenting an atmosphere conducive to large-scale violence… Even if India does evade such a risk, the deteriorating social fabric shall inevitably lead to escalating violence…paralysing the future of the country.”   

In 2022 as well, staff and students of the IIMs in Bangalore and Ahmedabad had written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to “break his silence” on issues related to hate speech. A similar letter in 2020 urged the PM to secure justice for the Hathras rape victim.

Newslaundry spoke to Prateek Raj, assistant professor at IIM Bangalore and one of the signatories to the letter. Raj said the “recent rise events of violence were the specific trigger” for the letter.

When asked whether he would want to highlight any specific news channels airing “genocidal content”, Raj said, “No. As we mention in the letter we want companies to conduct internal audits and decide which news channels are engaging in promoting misinformation and hate speech.”

He added: “Is there a way India Inc can support independent media without vested interest? In my view, India Inc should support responsible journalism. There has been a decline in print journalism as a viable profession around the world, as revenue of print media organisations has dried. In their place sensational TV ‘debates’ void of any real journalistic content has gained prominence. Independent and investigative journalism is the fourth pillar of democracy, and corporate India should support this fourth pillar.“

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