If Aamir was honest enough and dared to say in public that he fears what can happen in India in the future, there will be thousands like him in this country who think the same but have not said so aloud, or if they did have done so in their closed circles. Aamir, being a celebrity, and one who has captured the imagination of many through the silver screen, was able to make this statement that was picked up by the media and then the social media where he was commended for what he said and also criticized for it.
What he said was, “Kiran (his wife) and I have lived all our life in India. For the first time, she said, should we move out of India… She fears for her child, she fears about what the atmosphere around us will be. She feels scared to open the newspapers every day. That does indicate that there is a sense of growing disquiet.” That’s what the ambassador of the Incredible India campaign and producer of the TV series Satyameva Jayate had to say about the current situation in the country.
For the past few months the question of intolerance has been debated across the country, with various litterateurs even returning their awards in protest to the growing intolerance. Aamir’s comment is not a lone voice, but he is among the many in this country who have voiced their concern to the onslaught against the freedom of expression. He is also not the first Bollywood actor to have spoken out. Shah Rukh Khan did it before him.
Aamir, by his comments, was raising a very serious issue that in the past weeks has haunted the country. Why is it that a section of society is feeling unsafe in India? People who were born here and have lived here all their lives and contributed to nation building shouldn’t fear for their safety or the future of their children. That they do so fear reflects on the current government that has not been able to assure its citizens that they are safe. All that the people of this country are asking is that the government respond to attacks on the freedom of expression by assuring the people that they are safe.
In a country where the freedom of speech is a Constitutional guarantee, why shouldn’t it be acceptable to speak out one’s feelings without being attacked verbally for what one has said? Every person has the right to his opinion and to make this opinion known. One also has to be responsible to ensure that the statements made do not in any way hurt the sentiments of any person or community. In this case, Aamir was well within the boundary of a responsible statement and rather than addressing the fears expressed, the spokesperson of the party in power termed it a ‘deep political conspiracy’. There is nothing political about this statement. This is a genuine concern that when dubbed as a ‘political conspiracy’, will only fester as a wound to erupt on a bigger scale.
Incidentally, Aamir said his piece at a function in Mumbai at the same time as the International Film Festival in India, is also happening in Goa, where there has been a sign of intolerance displayed too. Not only have the students of the Film and Television Institute of India been barred from the film festival and also arrested for raising slogans against the government at the festival’s opening ceremony, but even their attempts to have a parallel festival are being thwarted by the authorities. Isn’t this a sign of growing intolerance?
