Shiv Sena hits out Bollywood for not backing Nahid Afrin

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, March 17

The Shiv Sena on Wednesday hit out at Bollywood personalities for not supporting Assamese singer Nahid Afrin against whom some Muslim clerics had allegedly issued fatwas banning her from performing in public.

In an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamna, the Shiv Sena alleged that Bollywood personalities, who often defended the rights of Pakistani artistes to perform in India, were silent about the fatwas against the singer.

“We are shocked that a few people who are vocal about freedom of expression and intolerance are silent about the injustice being done to this 16-year old girl,” Saamna said.

The newspaper then went on to name Bollywood celebrities such as Mahesh Bhatt, Jaya Bachchan and actor Aamir Khan’s wife (Kiran Rao) who reportedly said she was not feeling safe to live in India.

“Why is everyone quiet when it comes to Afrin,” Saamna asked.

Saamna noted that Bollywood had given Afrin a break with a song in the Sonakshi Sinha film Akira, which released last year.

Extending support to Afrin, Saamna said it won’t treat the matter as another political issue but something which concerns the Indian society.

Hitting out at fatwas issued by Islamic religious leaders, Saamna called these a result of perverse minds. “Fatwas … are a result of a medieval and pervert mindset. They have darkened the lives of women in Islam. Triple talaq has reduced women to mere maids and have rendered
them helpless,” the edit said.