Veteran Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah’s take on mob violence saw him being mercilessly targeted by the Hindu right wing groups. Shah had recently remarked about the killing of a policeman in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district and questioned how the killing of cow is given more importance than that of the murder of policeman. Predictably the right wing groups declared him as traitor and some even booked one way train ticket to Pakistan for him. But this whole controversy has shed fresh light on the very issue of the patriotism of Muslim community.
The right wing groups often questions the patriotism of Muslim and doubt them to be Pakistani sympathizers. But when Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan made a comment that he would teach the Narendra Modi government how to treat minorities citing the concern raised by Naseeruddin Shah, it was the Indian Muslims who strongly rebuked him. Mr Shah himself asked Pakistan PM to refrain from commenting on internal matter of India and concentrate in his country. The Member of Parliament and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi, who is often the target of right wing groups asked Imran Khan to instead take a lesson from India’s inclusive politics and minority right. Former Indian cricketer and prominent Muslim voice Mohammad Kaif said Pakistan was the last country to lecture any country on the matter. Mr Kaif pointed out that since the time of the formation of Pakistan, the number of minorities living in the country has drastically reduced. The big question is will these statements led to end of the jibe of go to Pakistan? The Muslims are as Indian as Hindu, Sikh or Christian. It is unfair to ask them to go to Pakistan simply for expressing their views. India is a democratic country and everyone has right to express their views without any fear.