India’s King Khan Falls for Kashmir
Shah Rukh Khan, a heart-throb of millions internationally and in India, is in Kashmir shooting a film and Indian media, it seems, has gone berserk and is overwhelmed highlighting super star’s visit to Kashmir as extraordinary or something never done before. A pertinacious attempt to send feelers around the world that situation in Kashmir is back to normal and thousands dead and buried in Kashmir’s graveyards consigned to history, everything is done and dusted. The secular matinee idol popularly referred to as SRK by his friends and foes alike, is a ´Muslim´ and like other present or archived successful Khans of so called ´Bollywood´ is the backbone of Indian film industry promoting India and its “secular” image, by providing entertainment to Muslim and non-Muslim audience worldwide. In comparison, a much bigger, projected as the ‘ultimate’ in film acting Amitabh Bachchan being an orthodox Hindu referred to as “BIG B” would, perhaps, not deliver and benefit India vis-à-vis Kashmir politically so much. Even though, in the likeness of the cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar, a temple erected after his name is worshipped by his devotees round the clock. India’s FIRSTPOST from Pune reported on August 21, 2012 that SRK is booked by city police for insulting Indian flag. FIR lodged by a Hindu fundamentalist Janshakti Party was based on an allegation that SRK insulted the Indian flag and on registering the complaint it was decided by the party to launch a countrywide agitation against such desecration of the flag. The general secretary of Janshakti, Ravi Brahme said “I was surfing the net and on one website I found some pictures in which he (SRK) was waving the Indian flag in Mumbai after India won the cricket World Cup on April 2, 2011. While waving the flag, he ignored the fact that saffron colour was at the bottom and the green colour was on top”. The sinister act creating a controversy to mess up green and saffron colours clearly shows the racist bent of mind to malign and doubt SRK ´loyal than the king´ characteristic just because the fanatic’s heart and mind are full of hatred, malice and animosity towards green colour even though ‘green’ is the inseparable part of Indian flag and it hardly matters when someone in jubilation emerging out his running car waves the flag to the crowd against the wind turning it upside down. The first Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had serious concerns and reacted to the comment made by India’s first High Commissioner to Karachi Sri Prakash about Kashmir and to Sri Prakash Nehru wrote: “I was amazed that you hinted at Kashmir being handed over to Pakistan....If we did anything of the kind our government would not last many days and there would be no peace....it would lead to war with Pakistan because of public opinion here and of war-like elements coming in control of our policy”. Syeda Afshana, an intellectual columnist at Media Education Research Centre, University of Kashmir on SRK current film shooting writes “we are actually silent and our silence has now turned criminal”. She adds “much hyped ´Bollywood´’ is here; from romantic movies shot in 60s and 70s to jingoistic ones filmed in the last two decades….the state where people continue to die cheap, voices stifled and unmarked graves shrouded in mystery. We shrill in vain and this is the theme running through our story without celebrated heroes and holy men. Nevertheless, mind you, our story is not SRK story. Like any other compatriot, he romantically loves KKKashmir but not at all Kashmiri people”. The brazen display of arrogance and stubborn persistence to copy American attitude and treatment towards Muslims when SRK, in the recent past, was held at American airport to humiliate and insult him just because his passport identified him as Khan, is making the job easy for Indian radical maniacs. During the shooting of his film in scenic beauty of Kashmir SRK refused to answer questions about films shot in Kashmir under army escort to fabricate stories to defile and discredit armed uprising against Indian occupation….it was reported.