New Delhi: Leading artists including Vivan Sundaram, Anjolie Ela Menon and Subodh Gupta today expressed solidarity with writers who relinquished state awards and criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not categorically condemning the recent attacks on rationalists and minorities.

"The scale of social violence and fatal assaults on ordinary citizens (as in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh; Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir; Faridabad, Haryana) is escalating," said a statement signed by over 400 artists released here by Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (SAHMAT).