Aamir Khan alarmed by growing intolerance in India

Published November 23, 2015
The 'Rang De Basanti' actor voiced support for intellectuals, writers, academics and filmmakers who had returned their awards to protest against growing extremism in India. ─Photo courtesy: NDTV
The 'Rang De Basanti' actor voiced support for intellectuals, writers, academics and filmmakers who had returned their awards to protest against growing extremism in India. ─Photo courtesy: NDTV

NEW DELHI: Indian Actor Aamir Khan on Monday said that he has been "alarmed and shaken" by the number of incidents related to extremism in India, Indian news agency PTI reported.

Addressing an audience at the Ramnath Goenka journalism awards, the actor known for his unique and outstanding on-screen work said that the growing insecurity in the country has alarmed him and he and wife Kiran Rao do not feel the country safe for their children.

"My wife Kiran Rao even suggested we should probably leave India," Aamir told the audience.

Aamir Khan claimed that his sense of insecurity has increased in the past few months and laid stress upon the people in power to strongly condemn such incidents.

Also read: Indian man beaten to death, son injured over beef eating 'rumours'

The 'Rang De Basanti' actor voiced support for intellectuals, writers, academics and filmmakers who had returned their awards to protest against growing extremism in India, saying that it is one non-violent way to send your message across and he supports all non-violent protests.

The 50-year-old actor also said that religion should be dissociated from acts of terrorism saying that after an act of terror, the first mistake people make is labeling the terrorists as 'Islamic' or ' Hindu'.

He was of the view that terrorists should be just called 'terrorists' and the religion tag shall be removed for good.

Related: 41 Indian writers have returned awards so far to protest climate of intolerance

On October 13, 10 to 15 Shiv Sena activists attacked with ink, Sudheendra Kulkarni, organiser of former Pakistani foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri's book launch, hours before the event.

The group was also accused of using threats to force the cancellation of an appearance in Mumbai by Pakistani singer Ghulam Ali.

Activists of India's far-right political group Shiv Sena attacked the Mumbai headquarters of the office Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on October 19, just before Pakistan Cri­cket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan was to meet BCCI chief Shashank Manohar to discuss a bilateral series in December.

Sena activists crashed through the gates of the office in Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium that serves as the headquarters of the BCCI.

The activists shouted anti-Pakistan slogans and held posters that read 'Shahryar Khan go back', determined to stop Manohar from meeting his Pakistani counterpart. The protesters entered Manohar's office and crowded around his desk, shouting slogans.

The meeting was cancelled.

While in September, a 50 year old Muslim man Mohammad Akhlaq was dragged from his house in Dadri, a small town in the outskirts of Indian capital New Delhi, and beaten to death by around 100 people over suspicions he had eaten or stored beef.

The incident occurred soon after a nearby temple made an announcement via loudspeaker that the family had consumed beef.

Protesting against such incidents, at least 42 novelists, essayists, playwrights and poets had returned the awards they received from Indian government with the last one being Arundhati Roy.

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