#UriAttacks: Is entertainment industry the softest target for everyone?

The recent #UriAttacks left 18 soldiers dead, with their families bereaved. Everyone, including the netizens of India, was shocked, and condemned the cowardly attack. However, something more was about to come, something which remotely had nothing to do with the whole incident, yet had to bear the brunt of the same.

If you have been following the news and social media for the past few days, you must have come across singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya’s tweet where he expressed that he wanted all the Pakistani artists and actors ousted from the country, because, apparently, according to him, defaming and throwing them out will be the end of terrorism.

You can see the tweet here.

Well, MNS was quick to follow suit and soon issued a notice that all the actors and artists of Pakistani origin will have to leave India within 48 hours, or else they will be forcefully removed from the country.

We ask, is that the solution?

The whole Bollywood condemned the Uri Attacks, prayed for our soldiers, but because they considered attack on Pak artists as an attack on art, they were considered anti-nationals. Immediately, the three Khans were tagged on various social media posts, with people asking for their statements, just on the basis of their religion. Well, not cool.

Entertainment industry, of both India and Pakistan, is immensely popular, and sadly, the softest target as a result. The exchange of art between the two countries is minimal, if one considers the monetary worth, but people calling for a ban on Pakistani artists do not understand that this is not the solution, the problem lies deeper.

We agree that a statement on the #UriAttack by the Pak artists would have been much appreciated. Just one statement saying that they are sorry for the lives lost, and nothing which might question their patriotism towards their own nation, given they will support the country they reside in. However, is it decent to call them names and hold them responsible for the demeaning act that has been carried by terrorists?

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind, and that is what is happening right now. As Fawad Khan has reportedly left the country, we do have to ponder over the fact as to why was he in particular targeted so much for an attack that came from his country while he was busy shooting for an Indian movie which will earn money here? Was it because he is a star? Or was it because the motive of these people was not expressing patriotism, but in fact getting (in)famous, as blaming a highly popular star serves the purpose just right.

Whatever might be the reason, we mourn for the lives lost on the border, the least we can appeal to our fellow citizens is implore the government to look into graver solutions to this problem, rather than demeaning the memory of the martyrs by proposing such frivolous solutions. War and defence are matters of lives, lives of people who guard us. It’s time we stop milking it for cheap fame. It’s time we stop targeting entertainment industry for everything wrong that goes in the country, by finding one trivial common factor. It’s time, we ponder, as Indians, for once.

Kadambari Srivastava

Grammar Nazi, word weaver, dreamer, bibliophile, technophile, caffeine addict, foodie, shuttling shopaholic! Mash it in a Bollywood recipe and voila! Pushpa, you’ve got her!