Music gives soul to the Universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, charm & gaiety to life & to everything ~ Plato
In these troubled times that we live, one would have thought that music is the medium to heal the aching soul, a soothing balm to our loneliness, antithesis to darkness & negativity, an antidote to hatred & bigotry. Alas even music is now marred in controversy.
At the age of 16 when most girls are talking about studies, exams, dresses, boys, movies et al a talented girl from Assam is unfortunately in the eye of a storm. Her crime? Participating in a reality show & singing Hindu devotional songs.
Nahid Afrin had won hearts of people all over the country for her soulful rendition of these songs.
However some fringe elements in her home state saw red. They claimed that singing, magic shows etc are unIslamic. There has been lot of debate & confusion over this news. First there were some wild allegations that there were 46 fatwas but later on it was clarified that 42 “CLERICS” (?!?) had signed a single fatwa.
Of course the fatwa was cleverly worded that it does not directly name Nahid but since it talks against the musical event in which she was 1 of the participant the allusion is open to interpretation. I for one feel that its nonsensical to turn this into a news sensation for the simple reason that these bigots & fanatics actually thrive in such media blitz. It gives them their 5 minutes of fame & validates their pathetic existence. Hence by focusing on this news we are simply playing into their hands because this is precisely what they seek. To create differences, widen the divide, turn it into an US vs THEM debate & also attract the attention of terror groups who love to fish in troubled waters.
However my reason to write this article is twin fold. One highlight the hypocrisy of some self-appointed guardians of civil liberty. Two highlight the dangers of walking into the trap of religious fringe groups & their hate campaigns.
First of course is the double standards exhibited here. Wonder if Kiran Rao feels unsafe this time around. Cut to few weeks back when her soulmate was swift to rush to the rescue of another 16 yr old Zaira Wasim when she was trolled for apologizing to separatist trolls.
If you check his statements carefully he never criticized the people who called her a traitor for meeting Mehbooba. No forceful retort asserting that she met the lawfully elected head of a state. He literally begged & pleaded with the hateful trolls to leave the “poor” teen alone.
Not to mention that the same poor teen did not have the spine to stand up for herself & crawled before the India haters apologizing for her big crime of meeting an Indian (Kashmiri) politician but found her lost voice to troll a BJP politician who had tweeted in favor of her. This innocent girl was scared to speak back to the India haters but found her courage immediately when the recipient was a BJP politician.
Time and again this two faced nature of Bollywood, champions of FOE and these so called Nouveau instant celebrities like Zaira Wasim has been exposed.
Another classic example is the collective outrage of the Bollymob on the *GASP* terror spread by *GASP* *HYPERVENTILATE* Hindu saffron “TERRORISTS”. But not a whisper from these overhyped celebrities if the perpetrators are not from the majority community. Mob vandalizes Padmavati sets. HOW DARE THEY………… Cue to Start your Smear campaign against the entire majority community who are the most peace loving in the whole world. Nutty headcases from non-Hindu groups indulge in abuse. OH COME ON THESE NUT CASES DO NOT REPRESENT THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY. THESE ARE JUST FRINGE ELEMENTS……… Oh and by the way do not even dare use the “I” word. Remember in this case these people do not belong to any religion. And they wonder why more & more Hindus are feeling alienated in their own land & looking with distrust & resentment against the politicians, media & a section of their own countrymen.
More important than reacting to these douche-bag celebrities, it’s time to tackle the menace of religious fanatic groups. Strict laws need to be in place. Registration needs to be cancelled for any association/group which breaks the law blatantly. Also the people should clearly reject these religious fanatics & refuse to be associated with such divisive groups. And this applies to all religions/caste/community. Let there be no leniency in curbing their activities with an iron hand. Only when there is fear of law will these idiots stop spewing venom & learn to be productive citizens.
Finally a word to Nahid. To quote the author Roth “We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.”
Do not let these cowards cow you. Already your strength shines in the manner in which you have handled this crisis with a maturity that belies your age. Keep spreading your message of love & tolerance. Teens like you are the true role models for youngsters not wanna-be pretenders like Zaira!