There he said it. That he and his wife love India, are proud Indians, and will never leave their country of birth, the country that has nurtured them and has given them the opportunity to be Mr and Mrs Aamir Khan.
The fracas created by people who hear what they want to will die a natural death; the hyenas will find something else to pounce upon. No one will be wiser, save Aamir Khan.
A section of the media went to town asking people a wrong and provocative question: “What do you think about Aamir Khan saying that the atmosphere of the nation has become so intolerant that he considers moving out of India?” Journalists were making sure they had enough to keep the TV grist mill going for maybe days, with nary a thought for the harm they were causing.
First, Aamir never said he wants to move out of India. He expressed anguish over the fear his wife felt. But the hate-mongers picked out words from his anguished statement and made what they wanted out of it.
TV channels were full of nonsense about how Aamir’s statement has split Bollywood down the middle. Then there were the smart ones who pleaded they had not thought out their responses. The super-smart Imtiaz Ali and Deepak Padukone hid behind the excuse that this was a matter of relevance, and they had not had the time to ponder upon it. Naturally. Who wants a film’s release to be disrupted by hooligans? The writing on the wall was clear. Had they said they agree with Aamir, their new film would have been in the boondocks, and had they disagreed, they would have done their own conscience and Aamir a disfavour. Bimbettes like Raveena Tandon lashed out at Aamir on one channel and backtracked on another. The act seemed opportunistic and one wondered if there is an axe to grind.
Speaking about any matter concerning our nation, especially if it points at the Hindu-Muslim populace and the challenges faced by both communities, causes an immediate backlash. The bhakts become defensive and fight back snarling that they are tolerant. But their reactions are of people guilty of playing dangerously divisive politics. So, mock funerals are held, money is promised to anyone who can slap Aamir, his effigies are burnt. Yes, of course, we are tolerant and I wonder what we will burn after effigies. People?
Sitting in a room full of people debating if Aamir was irresponsible or was he merely being honest, my sister, a social media junkie, said, “I have never tweeted anything against the government or against the PM. I do not have the courage to criticise anything, however minor or major. I just don’t have the guts to express my opinion.” A hush fell upon the room and someone asked why.
“You have to see how they pounce on anyone who speaks against the BJP, the bhakts or any policy that the PM announces. The language used is far from parliamentary, they don’t see if it’s a woman or a respected person, they just pounce.”
Just like they pounced upon Aamir and tore him to bits. Tasteless jokes appeared in a jiffy. His face was blackened and people asked him to leave India and take more Muslims with him. Sure, we are tolerant but painting ourselves into a corner. Although theirs is an inter-community marriage, Aamir didn’t ask Kiran to change her religion. Their child will be exposed to Islam and Hinduism with a healthy dose of atheism thrown in. Kiran is an atheist. Humanity is a religion, the best sort.
Kiran was worried about the safety of her child. I can understand how they could be feeling. Like they were sticking out like a sore thumb as Muslims in this growing rabid Hindu atmosphere. Much like a divorcee feels in a small town, all eyes look at her balefully, like she has committed a heinous crime by just being. So much attention is being drawn to communities that people have forgotten to treat India as a vibrant whole.
PM Modi is travelling all over the world to woo the diaspora—essentially people who have left the country and gone for better roads, salaries, safety, religious tolerance, cleaner air… the list is endless.
At least one of the above reasons is the one poor Kiran cited. Mr Modi?
archanadalmia@gmail.com
Dalmia is chairperson of Grievance Cell, All India Congress Committee