ISLAMABAD – Well known Bollywood film star Naseeruddin Shah, in a videomessage released by the human rights watchdog Amnesty India, has said thatpeople in India were being divided in the name of religion and a wall ofhatred was being constructed among them.He said those, who were raising their voice against the injustice among themembers of the society, were being punished. Those fighting for theirrights were being arrested.”Actors, scholars, poets are all being stifled. Journalists too are beingsilenced,” he said, adding India was awash with horrific hatred and cruelty.He released the video message after the Indian government’s recentcrackdown against non-governmental organizations (NGOs).Naseeruddin Shah said so many innocent people were being killed in Indiaand no one was allowed to talk about them.”Is this where our country is headed?” he asked. “Had we dreamt of acountry where there is no space for dissent, where only the rich andpowerful are heard and where the poorest and most vulnerable are oppressed?Where there once was law, there is now only darkness.”The Amnesty India under the hashtag #AbkiBaarManavAdhikaar said it had seena tumultuous crackdown on freedom of expression and human rights championsin the country.”Let’s stand up for our constitutional values this new year and tell theIndian government that its crackdown must end now,” the Amnesty said.It was recently that Naseeruddin Shah had received intense flak for hisstatement where he said: “Being a Muslim he fears for his children inIndia.”He was speaking in the wake of a mob violence that broke out in UttarPradesh’s Bulandshahr on December 3 over alleged cow slaughter in the Mahawvillage. The violence led to the death of two men, including policeinspector Subodh Kumar Singh.”I feel anxious for my children because tomorrow if a mob surrounds themand asks if you are a Hindu or a Muslim, they will have no answer,” he hadsaid.
Veteran Actor Naseeruddin Shah exposes true face of PM Modi government in India
