Several faculty members of IIM Bangalore on Tuesday issued an open statement asking corporate houses to stop funding through advertisements and donations news and social media organisations that publicly air hateful or genocidal content against a community of people.

Seventeen faculty members have issued the statement in their personal capacity to draw the attention of corporate leaders to the fragile state of internal security with an increasing risk of violent conflicts in the country.

They appealed to the corporates to conduct an internal audit to ensure that their funds go to responsible news and social media organisations.

The IIM faculty members said corporates should conduct timely diversity and inclusion sensitisation events within their organisations to ensure that their work culture remains welcoming to people of a variety of faiths and social backgrounds.

The letter said open and public exhibit of hatred towards minorities has become common practice in political discourse, television news as well as on social media in the past few years.

They said the inaction of police and security forces on communal riots and the acquittal or pardoning of culprits involved in rape and mass murder during previous instances of riots demonstrate a glaring level of complacency by the government.

“These trends concern corporate India, as they point towards an increasing risk of violent conflicts in the country. 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 dark shadow over India’s future. Corporate India, which hopes to reach new frontiers of international growth and innovation in the 21st century, cannot afford to live with even a small possibility of such a scenario,” the letter said.

The deteriorating social fabric because of increasing hate, dehumanising speech and radicalisation shall inevitably lead to escalating violence and socioeconomic uncertainty, permanently paralysing the future of the country.

They underscored the need for peace, stability and cohesion in society for India to become an economic powerhouse.

“The leaders of corporate India have an important and substantial role to play in curbing the spread of hate and misinformation,” the letter said.

Prateek Raj, a signatory to the letter, said corporates usually consider TRP of the news organisation before giving advertisements. The letter has appealed to the companies to also consider if their funding is providing encouragement to such organisations which are spreading hate in society.

“The letter is expected to sensitise the corporates and make them think if their funding to media organisations through advertisements indirectly is leading to disruption in the social fabric of the nation. Our intention is to start a conversation on this issue,” Raj said.

He said that sensible advertising will in turn make the media function more responsibly. Social disruption is not in the interest of the corporates.

“Instances of riots and violence are happening in different parts of the country, mainly because of hatred in the minds of people. Media needs to advocate on how to stop violence and needs to focus on responsible journalism and not irresponsible sensationalism,” he said.