A group of prominent civil society members on Tuesday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "silence" over alleged hate speeches against Muslims at the Haridwar Dharam Sansad and demanded "exemplary" action by the government against those involved.

The Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD) in a statement signed by 278 people, including lyricist Javed Akhtar and actor Naseeruddin Shah, said that "no Indian ought to be surprised by the shocking silence" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi despite growing demand nationally and internationally that he must speak, and his government must act in "exemplary fashion" against members of the Dharam Sansad who have called for a "genocide of Indian Muslims".

"The PM's silence speaks volumes, is nothing short of a mockery of Indian democracy, a violation of the Indian Constitution which the PM has sworn to uphold during his swearing in.... His 'maun' (silence) is inexcusable," the statement said.

"In his first term as Prime Minister, Modi had promised 'sabka saath, sabka vikas' to all Indians. He went a step further in his current second term with the assurance of 'sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas'. That these were/are nothing but insincere and hollow slogans is more than evident from the way Indian Muslims continue to be hounded, wounded and lynched," the group said.

The signatories of the IMSD statement include journalists, lawyers, academicians, civil society activists and members of the film fraternity.

Some participants at the Dharam Sansad held in Haridwar from December 17-19 have been accused of delivering highly provocative speeches against Muslims.

Earlier several faculty, students and non-teaching staff of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi against his “disheartening” silence on rising intolerance and reminded him that it emboldens hate mongers and threatens the unity and integrity of the country.

The letter endorsed by 183 signatories, five of them from IIM Ahmedabad, has pointed out that hate speeches and calls for violence are unacceptable.

“Your silence on the rising intolerance in our country, Honourable Prime Minister, is disheartening to all of us who value the multicultural fabric of our country. Your silence, Honourable Prime Minister, emboldens the hate-filled voices and threatens the unity and integrity of our country,” the letter, dated January 6, stated.

“We request you, Honourable Prime Minister, to stand firm against forces that seek to divide us. We ask your leadership to turn our minds and hearts, as a nation, away from inciting hatred against our people.”

“We, the undersigned, request you and our elected members to preserve the culture of tolerance and diversity that defines our great nation. Hate speeches and calls for violence against communities based on religion/ caste identities is unacceptable,” the letter said.

“Our Constitution gives us the right to practise our religion with dignity — without fear, without shame.

“There is a sense of fear in our country now — places of worship, including churches in recent days, are being vandalised, and there have been calls to take arms against our Muslim brothers and sisters. All of this is carried out with impunity and without any fear of due process,” the letter, written against the backdrop of the passage of an anti-conversion bill in BJP-ruled Karnataka and the persecution of minorities across the country, stated.

“We expect our leaders to safeguard our constitutional rights. We expect our leaders to ensure safety and security for every Indian citizen. We expect our leaders to motivate us to be human and look beyond differences based on caste, religion, language and other identities," the letter added.