OPEN LETTER TO MR. SHAHRUKH KHAN by Bandyopadhyay Arindam *** Jai Maharaj posts
and/or www.mantra.com/jai
By Bandyopadhyay Arindam
ivarta.com
January 31, 2010
Your name is a household phenomenon in Indian and even beyond her
borders. Your fame has put you in the Newsweek "most powerful people
list" recently. However, as you may recall from your recent
experience in New Jersey Airport, real life is a little different --
it does not always follow the path predicted by a scriptwriter or
director.
Of late, we have been reading about your opinions and statements on
matters beyond the celluloid world. Nothing is wrong in it. You live
in a free, democratic country and are entirely entitled to your
opinion. But as a common man, also from the same soil, I think I have
the right too to raise a few points that may not conform to your
views of the real world.
I hope you will read it out.
When recently, the Pakistani players were not selected for the IPL,
it was almost predictable that NDTV, the award-winning, mouthpiece of
our Indian liberal media select you for your views and you certified
that "It (Pakistan) is a great neighbour to have. We (India and
Pakistan) are great neighbours. They are good neighbours."
I have a few words to say about those statements.
One may recall your effort to clarify the Pakistani team captain,
Shoaib Malik"s apology to the Muslims, living all over the world, for
failing to win the final T20 match against India, likely much to the
embarrassment of a lot of Indian Muslims, as expressed by Shamin
Bano, mother of the man of the match, Irfan Pathan. What was more
embarrassing was your effort to try to defend Shoaib in a subsequent
interview, "I don't think he meant to segregate Muslims and
Christians and Hindus and say this was a match between Islam and
Hinduism. I don't think that..."
I doubt whether Shoaib talked to you personally about his thought
process at that time. You did not really have to respond for somebody
else but perhaps you could not resist the temptation to show your
brotherhood and solidarity.
This reminds us again of Dr Ambedkar's observation that, "The
brotherhood of Islam is not the universal brotherhood of man. It is
brotherhood of Muslims for Muslims only.
Partition of India was what Pakistan wanted and got. It was painful
to millions but many more millions in present India have been spared.
Since then Pakistan has offered us only hatred. It has imposed on us
three major wars, the Kargil insurgency, the Kashmir conflict, the
series of serial blasts, the routine violation of border ceasefires,
attacks on the Parliament House and the recent Mumbai 26/11attack.
Did you have these in mind when you talked about them being good
neighbours?
In another interview you had tried to explain the concept of Islamic
Jihad. "I think one needs to understand the meaning of jihad .. I've
understood the essence that jihad is not about killing other people;
jihad is about killing the badness in you."
May be you understand jihad better and deeper than the superficial
meaning of what we, the rest of the mortal mankind, overburdened and
terrorized by the inter-religious, intra-religious and sectarian
violence that is plaguing the world in the name of Islam today, do.
For we, the less educated, cannot really make a difference between
Jihad and Qatl, between Jihad by heart / soul, Jihad by pen and Jihad
by sword or between lesser and greater jihad.
We wonder, whatever its meaning may be, does it minimize the
significance of the mindless killings that we see today in the name
of Islam, across borders, all over the world? Does it change the
nature of the killers whether you call them holy warriors,
mujahidins, fedayeens or plane suicide bombers?
We agree with you that terrorism has no religion. But hopefully you
will also agree with the people who perceive that most terrorist in
the world today happen to believe in the scriptures of Islam. They
actually believe that they themselves are the true Islamists.
The so called "moderate" Islamist, perhaps does not want to
contradict them or may be does not dare to speak out against them.
You have probably not forgotten the FIR against you for listing
Prophet Mohammed as one of the most unimpressive personalities in
history, the threats from which you had to skillfully wriggle out.
Others who are not so fortunate, famous or flexible are suffering
lifetime, as Tasleema Nasreen or Salman Rushdie would testify. For
blasphemy in Islam is punishable with death, even for a believer.
Do I have to spell out the fate if it is a non-believer?
It is due to the inherent intolerance and exclusivity of Islam itself
despite your effort to convince us that there is an Islam from Allah
and very unfortunately, there is an Islam from the Mullahs
Here is an historical insight from writer Irfan Hussain, "The Muslim
heroes who figure larger than life in our history books committed
some dreadful crimes..all have blood-stained hands that the passage
of years has not cleansed. Indeed, the presence of Muslim historians
on their various campaigns has ensured that the memory of their deeds
will live long after they were buried...Seen through Hindu eyes, the
Muslim invasion of their homeland was an unmitigated disaster."
So why should the "non-believers" care to accept them? Why should the
majority of Indians like to welcome back such disasters again?
Since partition, India has come a long way in progress and
development to her current status and is projected as an economic
superpower in coming decades while Pakistan is perceived as a failed
state on the verge of disintegration.
What does India have to gain by offering neighbourly friendship to
such a hostile and failed state?
India has never been an invader and is not in conflict of any other
Muslim country. None of the wars and conflicts with Pakistan was
instigated by India. In the current geopolitical situation, one can
argue for the Muslim world's grudge and anger against Israel or the
west and USA but one fail to fathom why India should also be at the
receiving end and why Indians should be the second largest group of
people to die from terrorists attacks. Indian majorities do not have
anything to do with the Danish cartoon or the death of Saddam
Hussain; so why should they suffer from Islamic havoc on those
occasions.
In almost all occasions of terrorism, questions are raised about
possible role of Pakistan, its terror bases and its terrorist
organizations, as either directly or indirectly involved. Be it state
sponsored (as recently admitted by President Zardari) or by non-state
actors, Pakistan or Pakistani born are prime suspect in terrorist
activities all over the world. ISI has been accused of playing a role
in major terrorist attacks including 9/11 in the USA, terrorism in
Kashmir, Mumbai Train Bombings, London Bombings, Indian Parliament
Attack, Varanasi bombings, Hyderabad bombings, Mumbai terror attacks
or the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul.
Do you believe these are marks of a good neighbour? Then what is the
reason for your preaching of love towards Pakistan?
Perhaps, as you said, because it is your ancestor's homeland, you
have a soft feeling for Pakistan and cannot see the difference. On
the eve of accepting an honorary doctorate from a British university,
we heard you say, "I really believe we are the same ..when you come
away from India or Pakistan you realize there is no Indian or
Pakistani -- we're all together. We are -- culturally, as human
beings, as friends"
Which Pakistanis are you referring to?
The Pakistanis belonging to the land, admonished as the epicenter of
global terrorism, not just by India or USA but even by its friendly
allies like Iran or China.
Or is it the self-created, Talibanic Pakistan, who still imposes
Jijya on the non believers or finds pleasure in blowing up girl's
schools.
Are you talking about its President class like the current Mr.
Zardari, vowed to wage a 1,000-year war with India or the late Mrs.
Bhutto who started Jihad in Kashmiri that lead to the exodus of Hindu
minorities from the Muslim majority state of India, as refugees in
their own country?
Are you referring to Pakistanis loyal to the ISI and the military who
train their soldiers with only one objective, i.e. to fight Hindu
India?
If your mind is concerned about the faceless mass of Pakistanis, does
it also include the dwindling minorities?
Or are you just concerned about the celebrities and the social
elites?
It is true SRK that we belong to the same human species but it is
hard to stretch the similarities much further between "us" and
"them".
We from the same original land of Bharat but we want to keep her
intact, they want to break it into thousand pieces.
Our ancestors happen to be the same. We acknowledge and adore the
heritage but they abhor and decimate whoever is available in an
attempt to wipe out the link.
We are culturally the same. We have created the culture over
centuries what they dream to destroy in moments.
Ours is a 10,000 year old civilization, theirs is a 62 years old
country undoing whole human civilization.
We extend our hands repeatedly to promote friendship and amity; they
give us ISI, Lashkar, Harkat, Kashmir, Kargil and 26/11 in exchange.
Do you think that the Indians nationals who died in all the above
wars, the Indian soldiers who lost their lives in cross-border
ceasefire violations or the Indian civilians who are killed by the
ISI trained Islamic terrorists and their affiliates, in all those
serial blasts, all over the country, willfully sacrificed their lives
as a friendly neighbourhood gesture?
Can you face the families of the victims of Chhatrapati Shivaji
Terminus or the martyrs of the Kargil war and try to explain to them
that "They are good neighbours. Let us love each other."
Can you explain why the two gunmen at Cama hospital, during the
Mumbai carnage, asked the man who gave them water, what his religion
was, and shot him dead when he said he was a Hindu?
If you cannot, then perhaps you understand why the majority of India
does not consider Pakistan as a good neighbour to have.
Perhaps you believe that the peaceful religious co-existence that you
created in your home (and we appreciate that) can be extended to the
large world outside. As you rightly said, we Indians trust and do
accept everybody but what you did fail to mention was that it is the
Indic tradition, essentially coming out of its pre-Islamic Hindu
ethos.
If you think otherwise, show us a single Islamic country where the
non-believers enjoy the same equality as the believers. Since
partition, the Hindus left over in Pakistan and Bangladesh has
suffered terribly. Strictly Islamic countries, like Saudi Arabia, do
not allow any other religions to exist. Hindus working in the Gulf
countries are not allowed to practice their religion in public. Saudi
Arabia insists that India sends only a Muslim ambassador. Hindu
Muslim unity by and large has generally been a matter of Hindus
trying to please or accommodate Muslims. One cannot forget when
Vajpayee was extending his hand for peace Musharraf was planning the
Kargil insurgency.
Let us remind you, your own statement "I am a Muslim in a country
called India. We've never been made to feel this is a Hindu country."
Can you find me a Hindu in Pakistan who can reciprocate that
sentiment?
Some years ago, another Mr. Khan, first name Feroze, from your
fraternity was banned from entering Pakistan for saying, "India is
secular unlike Pakistan".
That is the basic difference of the land of "Hindu" India from the
Islamic "pure land" of Pakistan.
So please do not ask us to love Pakistan.
Please do not lump the people of India and Pakistan together. We
Indians are proud to preserve our separate identity.
And please do not insult the land that gave you your life, name and
fame, by claiming that her worst enemy, who wants to break her into
1000 pieces, is a great neighbour.
Otherwise it would be sad if somebody accuses you of putting your
religion ahead of your country.
Please give it a thought.
Regards,
Arindam Bandyopadhyay.
http://www.blogs.ivarta.com/blog-columns-BandyopadhyayArindam-1.htm
More at:
http://www.blogs.ivarta.com/Open-letter-Mr-Shahrukh-Khan-SRK/blog-348.htm
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
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uNmaiviLambi
Jai Maharaj) wrote:
> Open letter to Mr. Shahrukh Khan
>
This fellow SRK is a crook. Indians should know. He will stab us in
the back when possible. His so called films should be boycotted by all
Indians especially Hindus. Shame if we support him and watch his films
hari....@indero.com
>
"This fellow SRK is a crook. Indians should know. He will stab us in the
back when possible. His so called films should be boycotted by all
Indians especially Hindus. Shame if we support him and watch his films"
Ah, bigotry and hatred rears its ugly head again. Given the popularity
of bollywood films in many parts of the world, should they now be
boycotted because they often have hindu themes?
hari....@indero.com
religion ahead of your country.
Please give it a thought."
Very wise words, now if only all indians would respect and act
accordingly.
It is a nation under the constitution, not for the purpose of any single
religion.
It is a nation where all stand exactly equal before the law, and not
according to religion.
harmony
<use...@mantra.com and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)> wrote in
message news:20100212P6UZ3bnrdYfYUG47Fg8y32K@YOWf8...
this is no time to write letters.
shiv sena has it just right.
the moive is a big flop across india. about the ones seeing it are muslims.
of course some whites in europe and uk will see it just to rub it in as is
their habit.
this is the first time the hindus have acted concertedly in favor of their
security, defying their govt, their media and their movie folks - yes, these
ones who have presumed to have held sway over people - all at once. it is a
great day for india.
and/or www.mantra.com/jai
"harmony" <a...@hotmail.com> posted:
> Dr. Jai Maharaj posted:
>
> > By Bandyopadhyay Arindam
> > ivarta.com
> > January 31, 2010
> > . . .
> this is no time to write letters.
> shiv sena has it just right.
> the moive is a big flop across india. about the ones seeing it are muslims.
> of course some whites in europe and uk will see it just to rub it in as is
> their habit.
> this is the first time the hindus have acted concertedly in favor of their
> security, defying their govt, their media and their movie folks - yes, these
> ones who have presumed to have held sway over people - all at once. it is a
> great day for india.
Let there be demonstration throughout Bharat against the movie!
Also, I encourage folks who have seen it to post spoilers. Torrents
of the movie are available on the web, but doing so would be illegal.