I used to be a fan of you, your rationality, your humanism, the way you thrashed unreasonable people such as Sadh Guru in debates, your bravery in the face of orthodoxy and all, despite your aloofness, which I think comes naturally with age and experiences of life. But there was no need to act dense at a place where you were invited as a guest.
Looks like this is not novel of you. Bushra Ansari’s sister
Neelum Ahmad Bashir in her travelogue on India recalls her visit to your house
accompanied by your sister - the way you acted impolitely to your sister in the
presence of guests and to the guests themselves, even though you were warmly
welcomed by Bushra in the past where your wife was laden with gifts by her as
well. People must not have taken that account seriously when it was first
published. Maybe you had your reasons. But guess what, that will make sense to
people now.
You complained that Indian icons, poets or showbiz legends,
are not welcomed warmly in Pakistan the way Pakistani ones are welcomed in India.
You said this in a ceremony where you were invited and in the country where you
were being celebrated at that very moment. You even received applause on your
statement. Not so rational of you. This was also the ceremony held in the name
of someone whose daughter was deported by Indian government. Let’s be more
honest about it. Indian icons who have visited Pakistan have always been
welcomed here, from Dillip Kumar to Raj Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah, Mahesh Butt,
Pooja Bhatt, Salman Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Emraan Hashmi, Arbaaz Khan, Johnny
Lever, Urmila Matondkar, Kalki Koechlin, Kim Sharma, Preeti Jhangiani to your
highness among many. You complained Pakistan doesn’t celebrate Indian legends
such as Lata G. People love Hollywood movies and music legends here, from Kishore
Kumar to Arjit Singh. And truth be told, Pakistani actors are only invited in
India when they have some commercial value. In the wake of recent events, they
are also banned from working there (Fawad, Mahira and others) while you were sitting
in the cultural capital of Pakistan.
"You were denied accommodation in Mumbai because of your Muslim identity despite you being an ardent secular and an open atheist. Please fix your own house before lecturing others. There are enough people in Pakistan who are vocal against extremism and at a very high cost unlike you."
You were right about extremism but again you were not honest
about it. Who is roaming free in Pakistan? The main culprit of 26/11 was hanged
in your country, the rest were killed, and the masterminds are behind bars in Pakistan.
You know who is roaming free? The perpetrators of APS attack. We, the Pakistani
people, are suffering to the levels unimaginable to you. The audience sitting
in front of you who applauded your comment are the ones who are against this
extremism and terrorism. You didn’t need to say that to them in their face.
They were your allies. And bitter truth be told, you are in no moral position
to lecture us on that when your own house is collapsing under the weight of extremism
and your premiere has a shady history. You were denied accommodation in Mumbai
because of your Muslim identity despite you being an ardent secular and an open
atheist and that too, long before BJP came in power. Please fix your own house before lecturing others. There are enough
people in Pakistan who are vocal against extremism and at a very high cost unlike
you. I do not disagree with your stance, but I disagree with the occasion.
And to those who are saying that Javed sb’s comments are a
mirror etc, please open your eyes. You know who is endorsing his stance? People
like Kangana Ranaut – Bhakts and Sanghis, RSS and BD goons, the extremists on
the other side – even when Javed sb “doesn’t consider them important.” The
damage is done. The hate won. Ghus kay maara. Have some self-respect. Stop
blindly following ideological icons (just like the ones you criticize) in order
to show off your rebellious nature and to look different. You don’t need to be
politically correct about it. This was plain stupid. It will also damage the
future prospects of visitors to both countries. It will damage peace. Nobody
will invite anyone anymore.
Only when things start to get better, some idiocy ruins the
whole thing. The people were happy. They welcomed you and you had to ruin it.
Please, remain vocal on matters of concern but be wise about it. More is
expected from you. Don’t lose your admirers and don’t benefit the haters.
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