Kangana Ranaut’s Video Calling Out Selective Secularism In Bollywood Is Ill-Timed. When Everyone Is On The Edge, Why Fuel The Communal Fire?
Kangana Ranaut has often been lauded for speaking her mind and not holding back while doing it. Even though she doesn’t have her own social media accounts on any platform, every time she makes a political statement, she has the Twitterati and the Instagrammers debating and dissecting her words for days. This time around, the Manikarnika actress, through her ‘Team Kangana Ranaut’ Twitter account, has shared a video calling out ‘selective secularism’ in Bollywood, which chooses to speak about ‘Black Lives Matter’, but is silent on the issue of Kashmiri Pandits.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CArpTRnlXa1/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
The almost two-minutes-long video has Kangana holding up a placard, much like the protesters have been doing lately to show support for BLM.
Kangana’s placard reads in bold text, “I am Hindustan. I am ashamed. #JusticeForAjayPandit Murdered in Anantnag Jammu and Kashmir”.
She then called out ‘selective secularism’ of Bollywood actors as well as those who call themselves liberals, who would hold up similar placards and “come out on the streets with stones and petrol bombs to burn the country”, but are now silent on the death of the Kashmiri Pandit Sarpanch Ajay Pandita, who was killed in Anantnag a few days ago by alleged terrorists.
Kangana accused the ‘woke’ folk of only speaking up when there was a ‘jihadi agenda’ behind their actions. She went on to liken them to “wolves in sheeps’ clothing” by saying that they “hid behind secularism” to further their agenda. She blasted them for trying to preach secularism to Hindus, who already follow a religion which is nature and peace loving and respects all faiths. The actress then spoke about the assassination of the Kashmiri Pandit Sarpanch in Anantnag, and the atrocities committed against the Kashmiri Pandits, taking recourse to the history of Islam in Kashmir, which began with Shah Mir, a converted Muslim ruler whose dynasty ruled over the previously Hindu/Buddhist state for a length of time.
Finally, Kangana Ranaut urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring the Kashmiri Pandits back to J&K, give them back their lands, and establish Hinduism in the state once again.
You can watch the video here:
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CBQFFbEg7_c/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Also Read: Dear Bollywood, Let Me Tell You Why Your ‘All Lives Matter’ Hashtag Is Tone Deaf And Makes You Look Bad
Kangana’s bold stand received much appreciation from her fans in the comments that followed. People lauded her for being one of the few actresses who deigns to speak her mind, without inhibitions.
https://twitter.com/ravipatel1108/status/1270673138137866242?s=20
https://twitter.com/tulipbhardwaj/status/1270675981175386112?s=20
Every time an international film celebrity like Meryl Streep, Frances McDormand or Emma Watson speaks boldly in criticism of national and international politics, we’ve often wished that our Indian celebs would do exactly that. Their diplomacy and silence on several key issues has often been perceived as meek behaviour. Indeed, Kangana does exhibit gumption for doing what she has done. She isn’t the only one addressing this incident; Anupam Kher had also expressed his outrage on the matter.
Deeply saddened & angry at the merciless killing of the lone #KashmiriPandit sarpanch #AjayPandita in Anantnag yesterday. My heartfelt condolences to his family. There is an obvious silence from the usual suspects who cry their heart hoarse otherwise. #JusticeForAjayPandita pic.twitter.com/5TnLpABOh2
— Anupam Kher (@AnupamPKher) June 9, 2020
That being said, the question remains whether the timing of this entire exercise is appropriate or not. The killing of the sarpanch is a rather shocking attack on a minority community, and yet, videos like these are likely to incite violence and provoke anti-social behaviour amongst people. Since we are all battling an unknown enemy, the Coronavirus pandemic, and thanks to being locked up at home for so long now, everyone’s mental health is in a precarious place. This is certainly not the time to add embers to the communal fire.
Before the pandemic struck, the CAA-NRC protests were in full swing across the country. But as we see now, even those causes have been put on hold, because the priority has become to find a way to deal with this disease and save lives. A war cry like the one Kangana has sounded seems unwarranted at this time, especially since neither the people nor the government would have the resources to deal with it.
What we can hope at this point is for the local law enforcement in Anantnag to find the culprits and prosecute them within the ambit of the law. For now, we will have to pick our battles. Get the migrants home safely. Ensure safety and security precautions are being followed. Get everyone used to this new normal, as the country reopens. People’s livelihoods are at stake, and politics will have to wait. Coronavirus demands all our attention.
