The open letter is addressed to companies, business houses, and corporates in India from a group of retired civil servants called the Constitutional Conduct Group. It urges these entities to rethink their policy of advertising on media channels that spread discord and divide society. It notes that while upholding constitutional principles is not just the government's job, corporations have failed to do their part and have even indirectly strengthened divisive forces by advertising on problematic channels. The letter argues that advertising on such channels is not just morally wrong but bad for business as unrest hurts investments and economic growth. It calls on companies to follow the example of a few who have taken a stand against advertising on channels that promote hatred and disharmony.

1. OPEN LETTER TO COMPANIES, BUSINESS HOUSES
AND CORPORATES IN INDIA:
RETHINK POLICY ON ADVERTISING ON MEDIA CHANNELS THAT SPREAD
DISCORD AND DIVISIVENESS IN SOCIETY
31 October 2020
We are a group of former officers of the All India and Central Services who have
worked with the Central and State Governments in different capacities. We have come
together as a group known as the Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG). This group does not
support any political party but believes in impartiality, neutrality and commitment to the
Constitution of India.
In the normal course, when we observe a flagrant violation of the principles embodied
in the Constitution, we write letters or make open statements pointing this out to the
concerned governments and to constitutional/statutory bodies. However, upholding the
principles of the Constitution is not a function of governments alone. All of us, as individual
citizens as well as members of various organisations in the country - social, political,
professional or business - have a duty to uphold the values enshrined in the Constitution and
to follow these principles both in our work as well as in our personal lives. Unfortunately, in
recent times, we see growing discord and distrust among the people of the country and a
steady erosion of democratic values with long term consequences for everyone.
Today, we are addressing this open letter not to the government but to an equally
important segment of society, viz. the various companies, business houses and corporates in
the country. These entities, responsible for wealth creation in the country, have not, we
believe, been doing their bit in upholding the rights and freedoms spelt out in the
Constitution. Sadly, an impression has gained ground that these bodies have preferred to look
the other way even as a rising tide of hatred and divisiveness threatens the very foundations
of our society.
Many well-established corporates have shown no hesitation in advertising their
products on media channels which have made it a practice to ramp up their viewership by
spewing hatred, creating divisions on the basis of religion and caste, manufacturing false
narratives and making criminals out of law-abiding people. It is possible that these corporates
have not given sufficient thought to how their acts have unwittingly strengthened the forces
which divide the nation through deliberate false propaganda.
Our Constitution, as we know, guarantees fundamental rights to each and every one of
its citizens. Article 15 of the Constitution prohibits discrimination on the grounds of religion,
race, caste, sex and place of birth. It is a matter of concern for all of us that several media
channels have gone against this fundamental right on a regular basis and yet receive
advertisements from many companies. Channels which communalise the spread of COVID-
19, allege that the UPSC has allowed Muslims to ‘infiltrate’ the higher civil services and dub
sensitive advertisements about communal harmony as “Love Jihad” are unfortunately
patronised by many corporates. Corporates often go by apparently doubtful TRP numbers to

2. decide their policy for advertisements. It is certainly time to look beyond such technical
considerations.
Advertising on channels which spread divisiveness is bad not only on moral grounds
but bad for business as well. As several economists and social scientists have pointed out,
investments tend to wither when there is unrest. And that is, unquestionably, what has been
happening in India. India’s investment as a percentage of the nominal GDP has declined from
41.2% in Sept 2011 to 21.4% in June 2020. Many other growth parameters have been on a
downward spiral too. Distrust, fear and uncertainty hurt not just the fabric of society but
business as well.
In the midst of this gloom, a few corporates stand out like shining beacons: they have
taken a stand against advertising on media channels which foment hatred and disharmony.
We commend them for their initiative and courage. We also fervently hope that other
corporates will follow their example. To all companies, business houses and corporate bodies
we would like to say: let not any of your actions, even inadvertently, help forces that create
discord and ill-will amongst our people. This country and its people deserve better. It is time
to show, through both substantive and symbolic acts, that we uphold the principles of our
Constitution and are committed to the peace and prosperity of all our citizens.
SATYAMEVA JAYATE
(95 signatories, as below)
1. Anita Agnihotri IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Department of Social Justice
Empowerment, GoI
2. Salahuddin
Ahmad
IAS (Retd.) Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Rajasthan
3. Shafi Alam IPS (Retd.) Former Director General, National Crime Records Bureau,
GoI
4. K. Saleem Ali IPS (Retd.) Former Special Director, CBI, GoI
5. S.P. Ambrose IAS (Retd.) Former Additional Secretary, Ministry of Shipping &
Transport, GoI
6. G.
Balachandhran
IAS (Retd.) Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
7. Vappala
Balachandran
IPS (Retd.) Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI
8. Gopalan
Balagopal
IAS (Retd.) Former Special Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
9. Chandrashekhar
Balakrishnan
IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Coal, GoI
10. T.K. Banerji IAS (Retd.) Former Member, Union Public Service Commission
11. Sharad Behar IAS (Retd.) Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh
12. Aurobindo
Behera
IAS (Retd.) Former Member, Board of Revenue, Govt. of Odisha
13. Madhu Bhaduri IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Portugal
14. Pradip
Bhattacharya
IAS (Retd.) Former Additional Chief Secretary, Development &
Planning and Administrative Training Institute, Govt. of
West Bengal
15. Ravi Budhiraja IAS (Retd.) Former Chairman, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, GoI

3. 16. Sundar Burra IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra
17. R.
Chandramohan
IAS (Retd.) Former Principal Secretary, Transport and Urban
Development, Govt. of NCT of Delhi
18. Rachel
Chatterjee
IAS (Retd.) Former Special Chief Secretary, Agriculture, Govt. of
Andhra Pradesh
19. Anna Dani IAS (Retd.) Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra
20. Vibha Puri Das IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, GoI
21. P.R. Dasgupta IAS (Retd.) Former Chairman, Food Corporation of India, GoI
22. Nareshwar
Dayal
IFS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs and former
High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
23. Pradeep K. Deb IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Deptt. Of Sports, GoI
24. Nitin Desai IES (Retd.) Former Secretary and Chief Economic Adviser, Ministry of
Finance, GoI
25. Keshav
Desiraju
IAS (Retd.) Former Health Secretary, GoI
26. M.G.
Devasahayam
IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Govt. of Haryana
27. Sushil Dubey IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Sweden
28. K.P. Fabian IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Italy
29. Arif Ghauri IRS (Retd.) Former Governance Adviser, DFID, Govt. of the United
Kingdom (on deputation)
30. Gourisankar
Ghosh
IAS (Retd.) Former Mission Director, National Drinking Water
Mission, GoI
31. Suresh K. Goel IFS (Retd.) Former Director General, Indian Council of Cultural
Relations, GoI
32. S.K. Guha IAS (Retd.) Former Joint Secretary, Department of Women & Child
Development, GoI
33. H.S. Gujral IFoS
(Retd.)
Former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Govt. of
Punjab
34. Meena Gupta IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests, GoI
35. Ravi Vira
Gupta
IAS (Retd.) Former Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India
36. Wajahat
Habibullah
IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, GoI and Chief Information
Commissioner
37. Sajjad Hassan IAS (Retd.) Former Commissioner (Planning), Govt. of Manipur
38. Siraj Hussain IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Department of Agriculture, GoI
39. Kamal Jaswal IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Department of Information Technology,
GoI
40. Najeeb Jung IAS (Retd.) Former Lieutenant Governor, Delhi
41. Rahul Khullar IAS (Retd.) Former Chairman, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
42. Ajai Kumar IFoS(Retd.) Former Director, Ministry of Agriculture, GoI
43. Brijesh Kumar IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Department of Information Technology,
GoI
44. P.K. Lahiri IAS (Retd.) Former ED, Asian Development Bank & Former Revenue
Secretary, GoI
45. Aloke B. Lal IPS (Retd.) Former Director General (Prosecution), Govt. of
Uttarakhand
46. Subodh Lal IPoS
(Resigned)
Former Deputy Director General, Ministry of
Communications, GoI
47. B.B. Mahajan IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Deptt. of Food, GoI
48. Harsh Mander IAS (Retd.) Govt. of Madhya Pradesh
49. Aditi Mehta IAS (Retd.) Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Rajasthan

4. 50. Sonalini
Mirchandani
IFS
(Resigned)
GoI
51. Noor
Mohammad
IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, National Disaster Management
Authority, Govt. of India
52. Avinash
Mohananey
IPS (Retd.) Former Director General of Police, Govt. of Sikkim
53. Deb Mukharji IFS (Retd.) Former High Commissioner to Bangladesh and former
Ambassador to Nepal
54. Shiv Shankar
Mukherjee
IFS (Retd.) Former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
55. Pranab S.
Mukhopadhyay
IAS (Retd.) Former Director, Institute of Port Management, GoI
56. Nagalsamy IA&AS
(Retd.)
Former Principal Accountant General, Tamil Nadu &
Kerala
57. Sobha
Nambisan
IAS (Retd.) Former Principal Secretary (Planning), Govt. of Karnataka
58. P.G.J.
Nampoothiri
IPS (Retd.) Former Director General of Police, Govt. of Gujarat
59. P. Joy Oommen IAS (Retd.) Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Chhattisgarh
60. S.K. Pachauri IAS (Retd.) Former Director General, National Productivity Council,
GoI
61. Amitabha
Pande
IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Inter-State Council, GoI
62. Mira Pande IAS (Retd.) Former State Election Commissioner, West Bengal
63. Alok Perti IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Coal, GoI
64. R.
Poornalingam
IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, GoI
65. V.P. Raja IAS (Retd.) Former Chairman, Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory
Commission
66. K. Sujatha Rao IAS (Retd.) Former Health Secretary, GoI
67. M.Y. Rao IAS (Retd.)
68. Satwant Reddy IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Chemicals and Petrochemicals, GoI
69. Vijaya Latha
Reddy
IFS (Retd.) Former Deputy National Security Adviser, GoI
70. Julio Ribeiro IPS (Retd.) Former Adviser to Governor of Punjab & former
Ambassador to Romania
71. Aruna Roy IAS
(Resigned)
72. A.K. Samanta IPS (Retd.) Former Director General of Police (Intelligence), Govt. of
West Bengal
73. Deepak Sanan IAS (Retd.) Former Principal Adviser (AR) to Chief Minister, Govt. of
Himachal Pradesh
74. G. Sankaran IC&CES
(Retd.)
Former President, Customs, Excise and Gold (Control)
Appellate Tribunal
75. N.C. Saxena IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Planning Commission, GoI
76. A. Selvaraj IRS (Retd.) Former Chief Commissioner, Income Tax, Chennai, GoI
77. Ardhendu Sen IAS (Retd.) Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
78. Abhijit
Sengupta
IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Culture, GoI
79. Aftab Seth IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Japan
80. Ashok Kumar
Sharma
IFoS
(Retd.)
Former MD, State Forest Development Corporation, Govt.
of Gujarat
81. Ashok Kumar
Sharma
IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Finland and Estonia

5. 82. Navrekha
Sharma
IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Indonesia
83. Raju Sharma IAS (Retd.) Former Member, Board of Revenue, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh
84. Tirlochan Singh IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, National Commission for Minorities, GoI
85. Narendra
Sisodia
IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Finance, GoI
86. A.K. Srivastava IAS (Retd.) Former Administrative Member, Madhya Pradesh
Administrative Tribunal
87. Sanjivi Sundar IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Surface Transport, GoI
88. Parveen Talha IRS (Retd.) Former Member, Union Public Service Commission
89. Thanksy
Thekkekera
IAS (Retd.) Former Additional Chief Secretary, Minorities
Development, Govt. of Maharashtra
90. P.S.S. Thomas IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary General, National Human Rights
Commission
91. Geetha Thoopal IRAS
(Retd.)
Former General Manager, Metro Railway, Kolkata
92. Hindal Tyabji IAS (Retd.) Former Chief Secretary rank, Govt. of Jammu & Kashmir
93. Jawed Usmani IAS (Retd.) Former Chief Information Commissioner, Uttar Pradesh
94. Ashok Vajpeyi IAS (Retd.) Former Chairman, Lalit Kala Akademi
95. Ramani
Venkatesan
IAS (Retd.) Former Director General, YASHADA, Govt. of
Maharashtra