New Delhi: In a veiled criticism of the Centre over the Dadri lynching incident, a senior US official on Wednesday said that silence can “embolden” criminals and it is therefore important for public figures and private individuals to speak out “pro actively” against hatred.
Delivering a lecture on ‘Democratic Values and Violent Extremism’ at Vivekananda International Foundation here, Sarah B. Sewall, US Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights talked about the need to end “stifling regulation” on civil society. “Ensuring freedom calls for most than just enforcing laws. It means pro-actively speaking out — as both public officials and private citizens. Silence can embolden the criminal and cruel — as in the lynching of a Muslim man last September, or the burning of churches in Odisha,” she said.
Ms Sewall’s comments assume significance against the backdrop of the criticism faced by Narendra Modi over his silence on the Dadri episode, wherein a 50-year-old man was lynched to death by a mob over beef eating rumours.
