Dear Honourable Chief Minister
RE: Petition for the reinstatement of security for Narendra Nayak
It has now been more than 15 months since the security detail of prominent rationalist Narendra Nayak was withdrawn.
As a result of a career spent challenging superstition in the country - Nayak was placed under 24-hour police protection. In 2016, Nayak’s name was found to be on a ‘hit list’ of prominent rationalist and activist figures. He had been placed under surveillance by his would-be assailants. This police detail remained in place until 30 March 2023 when it was removed with less than four weeks’ warning, despite persistent credible threats to his life and smear campaigns spread on social media.
In a country witnessing an acute rise in Hindu nationalist rhetoric over the last decade, Mr Nayak - the President of the Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations - has campaigned within his community against superstition, exposing so-called ‘God men’ as fraudsters and advocating for the upholding of secularism.
Article 21 of the Indian Constitution imposes a duty on the State to protect human life, despite this, when it became clear that Mr Nayak could not and would not assume the costs associated with his protection detail, it was withdrawn.
We need not remind you of the credibility of the threats that such ‘hit lists’ pose, in light of the murders of such renowned Indian rationalists as Narendra Dhaboklhar, M. M. Kalburgi and Govind Pansare, as well as the murder of renowned journalist Gauri Lankesh.
In light of the above, we, the undersigned, write to urge your offices to reinstate the security detail of Indian rationalist Narendra Nayak status quo ante.
