What Imam did is his culture: Prakash Raj
Raj tore into Babul Supriyo over his ‘skin you’ remark
Actor Prakash Raj gained strong support on Twitter as he taught a lesson for a lifetime to singer and Union minister for state Babul Supriyo on the relevance of culture.
Prakash Raj showed Supriyo a mirror, saying that the Nation is watching the change in behaviour patterns and added, “A Imam who lost his son in the Bengal riots said don’t communalise the incident. He asked not to spread hatred. That is culture. But not you (Supriyo), who threatened to skin people.”
Prakash Raj cleanbowled the Union minister. Tweeple jumped in support of the actor calling him a man with a spine and simply ‘cultured’.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Prakash Raj said, “All religions, whether Hinduism, Christianity, Sikhs and Jainism have great philosophies, but over a period of time, certain people interpret it. Selfish forces interpreted it wrongly and took it away from the common man, making it seem that rituals are religion. Culture of any religion teaches compassion and tolerance. Many people have hijacked the idea, and anyone who speaks against them are said to be spreading anti-dharma”.
The actor expressed that culture is a constant dialogue between the Nature and nurture. “We learn from Nature and we nurture ourselves, we adapt. But they hijack it and turn it into a monoculture which is against nature and ecology. We have seen what is propagating monoculture and mono- religion. The mono thought process has done damage to this world, an example being fundamentalist countries,” Prakash Raj said.
“India is known for its diversity. A human being in a society is cultured and non-cultured. I had to tell him (Supriyo ) in his own language. But Supriyo continues to inform me that he called the Imam to inquire what help could be rendered. Here are two different people in Bengal cultured and not-cultured but Supriyo did not get the point. A guy who is in anger talks about skinning people but a man who is badly hurt and lost his son calls for peace. Look at the culture of that man,” Prakash Raj added.
The actor was referring to the clashes that broke out over the Ram Navami procession in Raniganj last week in West Bengal, leaving one person, Chhote Yadav, 35, dead and several police officers injured.
The clashes spread to neighbouring Asansol the next day, where a 16year-old youth, Sibtulla Rashidi, was killed. Prakash Raj questioned Supriyo’s definition of culture with reference to his comment “Chamra guthiye debo ekdom” (Will skin them alive).
The Imam who lost his son in the Bengal riots said don’t communalise the incident. That is culture. But not you, who threatened to skin people.
— PRAKASH RAJ