Academicians join the protests led by artists, writers against religious intolerance

New Delhi: The academic community has joined the protests led by artists and writers against religious intolerance in India.

Almost 135 academicians have started a web petition addressed to President Pranab Mukherjee. The signatories include top scientists, IIT professors and JNU academics.

The petition claims the current atmosphere in India is akin to a 'nuclear bomb' close to exploding and have appealed to the President to take action.

The petition says, "Sectarian and bigoted acts have recently escalated. A highly polarised community is like a nuclear bomb close to criticality. It can explode any time and drive the nation to utter chaos. This is a highly unstable atmosphere and we should do everything in our hands to defuse the disparity."

This move comes after many recipients of the coveted Sahitya Akdemi award returned their prizes accusing the BJP government and allied elements of spreading religious differences across India.

Over 40 writers and poets have returned their awards in protest against the Akademi's silence over recent cases of rising intolerance ranging from the murder of rationalist MM Karaburgi to lynching of a man in Dadri for allegedly storing beef.