Ours is still a free country, Mr Shah!
In Amnesty video, the famous Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah said, “Walls
of hatred are being erected in the name of religion in India and those who
stand against this ‘injustice’ are being punished. Artistes, actors, scholars,
poets are all being stifled. Journalists too are being silenced.”
He said that those who stood against this ‘injustice’ were having their
offices raided, licences cancelled and bank accounts frozen to silence them so
that they were deterred from speaking the truth.
“Is this where our country is headed? Had we dreamt of a country where
there was no space for dissent, where only the rich and powerful are heard and
where the poorest and most vulnerable are oppressed? Where there once was law,
there is now only darkness,” he said in the video in Urdu.
But the very fact that he has been able to make such comments proves that
what he says is not true. Far away from the limelight is not an easy life for
an aging actor. Whatever is his opinion, he is free to express himself and that
itself speaks volumes on the liberty of expression still existing in India.
Those who don’t agree with Shah are asking him as to when innocent Hindus
were killed by Muslim Terrorist in Mumbai why was he silent and that as far as terrorist
who was awarded capital punishment is concerned, was it right for Shah to sign
the letter of request for pardoning him to President?
It is true that everybody has the right to pursue their religion; the
hateful killings of writers, poets activists are really cowardly acts. The
Government should take action against the culprits. But such incidents are few
as compared to incidents where the minorities have been given enormous freedom
in India. How come then Shah is free to comment if there is so much censorship?
He had his 20 minutes TV time. Ours is still a free country. Shah must admit
it.
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