Stop Curbing Freedom of Expression: Bring back the Pragash Band

India is seeing increasing instances of voices being silenced, whether it is the voice of hope or voice of dissent. The 'fatwa' (religious ban) issued against the all-girl Kashmiri band 'Pragash', along with the pressure created by former J&K Chief MInister Grand Mufti for the girls to step down, is a condemnable act of violation of fundamental freedoms, by putting religious and state mechanisms to use. Their silencing is comparable to the recent murders of activists and journalists such as Narendra Dabolkar, M.M. Kalburgi, Govind Pansare and Gauri Lankesh. But unlike these martyrs who kept fighting for democracy, the all-women band succumbed to pressure exerted by religious groups along with religiously influenced former Chief Minister of the State of J&K. The Centre and the Supreme Court must intervene into the matter, they must provide protection to these girls. Our reverent Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji seems like a patron of art and culture at various events, ignoring this undermining of artists by using religious excuses must not be tolerated. Talking particularly about Muslims, we continue to receive great musicians from them in various Muslim Nations too, why then this voice of women is being silenced as 'haraam'? Is it even constitutional?