It’s Koena Mitra vs Shabana Azmi on Twitter and Koena is winning

In recent times the world has seen an unprecedented rise in Islamic terror and also the steady flow of refugees. Millions have been displaced, with little or no hope, nations closing their doors in the wake of repeated terror attacks in Europe. Many of these have had names of refugees coming up as the perpetrators of terror. However, the human mind cannot shut itself and ignore the sorrow of a fellow human being. And therefore the lifeless body of Aylan Kurdi keeps haunting us, even after two years of the death of the innocent little child.

 Nearer home, the refugee crises regarding Rohingyas is a reality on which most public figures do not want to talk about. And even if they do, it is in favour of providing shelter to the Rohingyas. Agreed the imagery of the displaced is powerful and India has had a tradition of opening its doors to those in grief, however, the security threat cannot be overlooked and while we are at it, this aspect must be discussed at length.

Actress and model Koena Mitra recently took to Twitter and expressed concerns over the exodus of Rohingyas in Bengal. “Rohingyas are being thrown out of Myanmar and Srilanka bcos of their terrorist activities, but CM is giving them land, helping them to settle down in #WestBengal posing danger to national security. #BengalAgainstRohingya When will you help WB? @PMOIndia @rashtrapatibhvn,” she said in her tweet.

While Rohingya have also settled in other parts of India, Koena Mitra in a later tweet also mentioned that she is attached to her birthplace and concerned about the fact that it is not the same anymore.

Koena Mitra was soon countered by the veteran actress Shabana Azmi who tweeted, “UN describes the military offensive in Rakhine leading to the exodus of over half a million Rohingya as a textbook example of ethnic cleansing. Terrorists all?

Look again and think.” While no one in their right mind will call the hapless and displaced old and young children displaced; one cannot just quote the UN which has done a lazy job over and over again.

 Even if one is to fully agree with Shabana Azmi, one wonders how the state of India will screen the terrorists and let the refugees be given shelter. The ISIS attacks in Europe are a stark reminder of how policies can go wrong. And just lighting a candle or changing a display picture or writing a hashtag will not make terror vanish.

Koena Mitra was not to be silenced and she countered Shabana Azmi with “All terrorists have parents, they must be old and am sure they are good humans. Everyone isn’t bad, but when our country is suffering because of outsiders and invaders we should stand together and boycott them, simple.”

Koena Mitra also reminded Shabana Azmi about the face of changing Bengal where Durga Puja and Ram Navami are being stopped in certain pockets to appease the minority.

Bengal and the NorthEast are already reeling under the pressure of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and even though the current government has promised to take steps we haven’t seen the results of deportation. Let us face the reality, the radicalization of Muslim youth is a reality, reality also is the fact that we are an overpopulated nation with limited resources. So while we talk about opening our doors for Rohingyas, we need to provide for our citizens first.

While we might talk about humanity and the ethos of India, let us not forget that we have failed persecuted Hindus of Pakistan and Bangladesh.

It is needless to say that some ‘liberals’ took to Twitter and slammed Koena Mitra, calling her and out of work actress looking for fame. Another intellectual thought she was the perfect Lok Sabha candidate for the BJP. No one asks them why anybody who expresses a counter opinion is immediately linked to the BJP. The intellectual also added that Mitra’s family residing in Maharashtra and  Rohingya refugee are on the same page. No one tells these well-read elites that Maharashtra and Bengal are both in India, and a Bengali residing in Maharashtra does so because the Constitution gives that right to an Indian to reside anywhere within the nation. These personal attacks on the actress, goes to show how well a different option is accepted by the Indian ‘liberals’.