Despite Muslims being the largest minority living in India today, the racism and violence they face in their daily lives are increasing since the past few years. With Modi’s second tenure, in particular, India has turned into a no man’s land for Muslims.
But where are the Muslim influential figures in India; especially the Bollywood stars that Muslims all over the world support?
While the Muslims in India are being tortured, killed, and abused, there seems to be no reaction at all from Bollywood stars. Aamir Khan, in particular, hasn’t spoken on any of the recent violent acts that are tearing India apart.
We expected better from Aamir Khan. In fact, the PK actor wasn’t always afraid of speaking the truth.
Aamir Khan used to call it as it is
In an interview (from the year 2005) that is currently making rounds on social media, he pointed out why Modi was not good for India.
There are Indians being killed by a leader. Him and his party, and him and his people are responsible for this. They are causing trauma to thousands of Indians.
In my opinion, people who do this and indulge in these kind of things are most unpatriotic.
When the interviewer added that people like that damage the idea of India, Aamir was quick to correct him, saying,
They damage the idea of humanity.
You can watch the full video here:
When Bollywood had some spine.
Aamir Khan on Modi (2005)
"Someone like Modi..He and his party..were responsible for the killings..of thousands of Indians" pic.twitter.com/RM6OoEBQov
— Asim Ali (@AsimAli6) June 4, 2020
Fast-forward to 2020 when the world is grieving the death of hundreds and thousands of Muslims when even some conscientious Hindus themselves did not celebrate Holi because of the violence led by supremacists, Aamir Khan posted this on his Instagram account:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9izGyXBL6k/
In recent years, we have seen the Dangal actor going from speaking for the rights of humanity to completely being oblivious and unbothered by the illegal and racist actions taken by Modi and his supporters.
This is him now:
The inhumanity
In one of the most harrowing incidents of anti-Muslim violence recently, the lynching of Tabrez Ansari shows how ‘pluralistic’ India has fallen. Today, more than ever, Muslims in India need these influential figures to come forward and speak up against what is wrong.
Attacks on Muslim households, schools, and mosques have taken the lives of many, burning these places to the ground. As well as the Citizenship Amendment Act in India, which excludes Muslims from those who can avail citizenship in the country, the case against Muslims is getting stronger in India.
These are the real and terrible consequences of the rise of authoritarianism. It’s no surprise that this happens in New Delhi as Trump meets Modi in India.
— Mehreen Faruqi (@MehreenFaruqi) February 27, 2020
We are yet to find out what caused Aamir Khan to change his stance on Modi and his supporters. Though it is not hard to wonder why. Is it fear? Was his support bought? Or is he really naive to his surroundings? We’ll let our readers decide the rest.
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