Mon 27 January 2020:
Bollywood legend Shah Rukh Khan is making headlines again after a video of him went viral across the subcontinent in which he eloquently made the case for a diverse India amid the outrage over the ruling party’s divisive citizenship law.
In an appearance on the dance reality show Dance Plus, Khan said his family doesn’t discuss religion at home.
“We never talked about Hindu and Muslims. My wife is Hindu. I’m Muslim and my children are India,” Khan says in the viral video.
Khan had previously said that every religion is welcome in his household, noting that his family celebrates all festivals.
“I gave my son and daughter names that could pass for generic (pan-India and pan-religious) ones – Aryan and Suhana. The name ‘Khan’ has been bequeathed by me so they can’t really escape it.”
“Our vision for this nation demands that we speak up now, in the name of our democracy and the constitution that protects it. We are aware that we have not always lived up to that promise, and many of us have too often remained silent in the face of injustice,” the letter said.
The signatories of the letter include filmmakers Mira Nair and Nandita Das and actors Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah and Jaaved Jafferi.
India has been witnessing massive protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which guarantees citizenship to non-Muslims of three neighboring countries Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. Critics see the new law as unconstitutional and discriminating against Muslims.
Attacks on minorities, especially Muslims, have risen sharply across India in the last few years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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