- Say they will observe a ‘Black Diwali’ this time
After artists and writers, former Indian military officials have now also started returning their medals in protest against the policies of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Retired military personnel were set to return their medals to protest against a government move to fix pensions for military veterans, The Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday.
In Delhi, medals will be returned outside the busy Terminal 1 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
There were reports of veterans returning their medals in Jalandhar, Amritsar, Patiala in Punjab and Rohtak, Hisar and Ambala in Haryana.
The defence veterans said that they would observe a ‘Black Diwali’ this time to protest against the Modi government.
The protest by the ex-military men comes after a number of Indian filmmakers, actors, writers and scholars returned their awards in what is a growing chorus of anger at perceived intolerance and spiraling Hindu nationalism under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party BJP.