Tag: fascism

  • Serious or sarcasm? Shah Rukh Khan’s birthday wish to Indian PM Modi divides social media

    Serious or sarcasm? Shah Rukh Khan’s birthday wish to Indian PM Modi divides social media

    Shah Rukh Khan is fresh off another professional high as his film ‘Jawan’ gets rave reviews from audiences and film critics alike. However, the actor was once again targeted by social media for sending birthday wish to the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi. Many felt the message was a complete departure from the actor’s image as a driving force against extremism. Others felt that the actor was mocking the PM in a subtle manner.

    “Happy Birthday to Hon. PM Shri @narendramodi ji!!! Have a healthy and joyful day. May u get some time off from work and have a bit of fun too. Best wishes.”

    The Bollywood Badshah was slammed for still supporting the PM, whose controversial regime is mirred with extremism, rising Islamophobia, and for jailing the superstar’s son Aryan Khan in 2021 on misled charges, cleared in May 2022.

    “With great success comes great responsibility,yet nobody is cancelling srk for a political stance.We are easily riled up against our artists,” wrote a user.

    Many were critical of how the ‘Pathaan’ actor has remained silent about the ongoing persecution of Muslims in India.

    But for others, many interpreted the actor advising Modi to “ake time off work” as a sarcastic dig implying that he is too old for the position any longer..

    Is King Khan subtly telling Modi to retire completely or actually sending a compliment? We’re not sure either but we’re hoping its the latter!

  • ‘Fashionable now to hate on Muslims’: Naseeruddin Shah slams Modi on Islamophobia

    Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah spoke to Indian Express about growing Islamaphobia under the rule of the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its influence on Bollywood.

    “Oh sure, these are worrying times absolutely,” the veteran actor said. “The kind of stuff that’s pure, undisguised propaganda is being lapped up and it’s a reflection of the zeitgeist of the times. Muslim hating is fashionable these days, even among educated people. It’s what the ruling party has very cleverly tapped into this nerve. We talk about secular this, democracy that, so why are you introducing religion into everything?.”

    The actor is well known for his out-spoken critique on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the spread of fascism in India, especially on the Indian Premier’s silence on growing hate speech in India.

    “I mean how spineless is the election commission of ours? Who doesn’t even dare utter a word. If there had been a Muslim leader who had said, ‘Allah Hu Akbar bol ke button dabao’, sh*t would have hit the fan. But here our Prime Minister goes ahead and says things like this and yet he loses. So, I have hope that this will wear off. But it’s definitely, at the moment, at its peak. It’s been a very clever card played by this government, and it has worked. Let’s see how long it continues to work.”

    Speaking on the rise of state propaganda films like ‘Mission Majnu’ and ‘Kashmir Files’, Shah said that the best thing that actors can do in these times is stay quiet and not participate in any propaganda, because artists these days are scared to raise their voice or fear their movies will be boycotted by the masses.

    Further addressing the role of art in influencing society, Shah urged all artists to raise the right questions, but also stressed on the need to come from a place of fearlessness. He further said that words and no action will not resolve the issue, but one has to practice what they preach.

  • Pakistan slams Modi’s fascist government’s planned ‘ghettoisation of Muslims’

    Pakistan slams Modi’s fascist government’s planned ‘ghettoisation of Muslims’

    Pakistani politicians and journalists have expressed their concern and called out Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s fascist government amid the hijab ban in the Indian state Karnataka.

    The backlash on Modi is coming after a Muslim student, Muskan Khan, wearing a burqa was surrounded by Hindutva mob on Tuesday within her college premises.

    In a video, it can be seen that the mob with saffron shawls are shouting at her, chanting “Jai Shri Raam”. Khan fearlessly retaliated by shouting back “Allah Hu Akbar” (God is Great).

    In an interview with NDTV, Khan said, “Since I started studying here, I’ve always worn the burqa and hijab.” Asked if she knew the men who bullied and harassed her, Khan responded, “Some were familiar faces from the college. Others I couldn’t recognise. My college principal and lecturers were very supportive after the incident took place.”

    Reacting to her video, Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mahmood Qureshi strongly condemned the banning of Hijab at educational institutions in India. He said, “World must realise this is part of Indian state plan of ghettoisation of Muslims.”

    He has also urged Indian Muslims to stand up for their rights in the neighbouring country, reports Radio Pakistan.

    Praising Muskan Khan for her courage, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president and Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif said, “A young Muslim Indian girl is a symbol of resistance against the Hindutva mindset.”

    Several other politicians and journalists also highlighted the fascism of the Modi government.

    Last week, the Indian state, Karnataka, banned religious clothes in educational institutions amid a controversy over the hijab and saffron scarves.

  • ‘Those who mention democracy should be shot’, says Hassan Nisar, Twitter reacts

    ‘Those who mention democracy should be shot’, says Hassan Nisar, Twitter reacts

    Senior journalist and analyst Hassan Nisar has received backlash over his ‘anti-democracy’ and ‘dangerous’ comments wherein he said that Pakistan must have 15 years of fascism and those seeking democracy should be shot.

    During an interview with Samaa Tv’s political talk show ‘News Beat’, Nisar said, “Pakistan needs uninterrupted 15 years of authoritarian rule to fix everything from primary education to population control.”

    “Anyone mentioning democracy should be dealt by a firing squad and his family should pay for the bullets fired on him. It’s our moral job to try and give Imran Khan five years uninterrupted,” said Nisar.

    Lamenting the state of primary education in the country, Nisar also asked, “Are these children going to take over the country?”

    Twitter reminded Nisar that Pakistan was founded as a constitutional democracy, and calls dictatorship to go against the authority of the state.

  • Video: Indian cops brutally beat Assam Muslims, Twitter slams Modi govt

    Video: Indian cops brutally beat Assam Muslims, Twitter slams Modi govt

    A harrowing video went viral on social media, where Indian police officers can be seen beating Muslims in Assam. In the video, several Assam cops can be seen beating a man with sticks even as he lay motionless on the ground.

    https://twitter.com/Vignesh_TMV/status/1441048703519715333

    The police brutality video has emerged from an eviction drive in the Sipajhar area of Darrang district of Assam. Policemen opened fire at a man and thrashed him.

    A photographer, identified as Bijay Shankar Baniya, is also seen assaulting the man, who appears to have a bullet wound in his chest. Baniya is a professional photographer who was hired by the district administration to document the situation and has been arrested, according to reports.

    https://twitter.com/thenameis_Mr__J/status/1441011534008754182

    According to Scroll, the administration served an eviction notice to residents of Kirakota Char late on Wednesday night. There was a protest on Thursday morning, after which the administration reportedly “promised that the villagers will be rehabilitated before the eviction”. But when the activists left the area, the police opened fire on the protestors, residents told Scroll.

    Pakistan’s federal minister Fawad Chaudhry took to Twitter to condemn the incident, and said, “Today, Prime Minister Imran Khan will once again draw the attention of the United Nations to the atrocities taking place in India. #ModiFascism”

    Lawyer, Aman Wadud tweeted, “HOW will the govt stop the hatred he represents? Oh, wait! It is this govt that generated this HATRED!”

    Journalist Ankur Bhardwaj tweeted, “A dance of death. #Assam”

    https://twitter.com/Bhayankur/status/1441032166796718091
  • Modi’s Hindu Rashtra

    Modi’s Hindu Rashtra

    This year, August 5 marked the one-year anniversary of occupied Kashmir’s illegal annexation and subsequent lockdown.

    Last year, India changed the special status of the troubled valley to union territories. The gross human rights violations that followed and are still taking place is no secret. Pakistan has tried highlighting the issue internationally.  Unfortunately, the international community is least bothered because of economic reasons; every country wants a share in the Indian market pie.

    The myth of Muslim Ummah was also shattered when except for countries like Turkey and Malaysia, nobody raised voice for the plight of the Kashmiris. The same led to what appeared to be a major foreign policy shift for Pakistan as Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi asked Saudi Arabia-led Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to stop dragging feet on the convening of a meeting of its Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) on the Kashmir issue.

    READ: VIDEO: FM Qureshi says Pakistan ready to ‘ditch’ Saudi Arabia for Kashmir’s sake

    Revoking the special status of held Kashmir was a step towards establishing Modi’s Hindu Rashtra. The first five years of Modi paved the way for an India that shattered all foundations of secularism. Modi regime’s six years have resulted in a wave of palpable fear amongst the Muslim minority in India. Modi’s Gujarat — where Muslims were killed as if it was a sport — is now being replicated in other parts of India; from beef lynchings to riots, the Muslim minority in India is being subjugated endlessly.

    Modi chose August 5, 2020, as the day of laying down the foundation of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. As the New York Times put it, “In a moment of triumph that India’s Hindu nationalists had worked toward for years, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on Wednesday set the ceremonial cornerstone for a new Hindu temple at the site of a destroyed mosque in Ayodhya.”

    This gesture was a slap in the face of the Muslim minority of India as well as the last nail in the coffin of Indian secularism. Modi’s Hindu nationalism has destroyed the fabric of Nehruvian secularism. It is a reminder that when a fascist ruler is in power, even strong traditions and constitutions cannot guarantee fundamental rights, human rights, freedom of speech and all other traditions of a free society.

    The cataclysmic shift of the Indian polity towards the right under Modi’s rule is not a surprise. In fact, what was surprising was the denial of Indian liberals when Modi was first elected in 2014. They were of the view that India’s secular traditions and constitution could never be destroyed but many pointed out how Modi’s victory was an indictment of the majoritarianism in India.

    This is happening all over the world. From Trump’s America to Brexit in Britain, the world’s shift to right-wing politics is quite disappointing. We hope that some day, sane voices of India and the world will take a stand against Modi’s fascism.