The makers of Quantico and lead actress Priyanka Chopra have received a lot of flak for their portrayal of Indians and Hindus as terrorists. The latest episode of the series shows a plot line in which ‘Indian nationalists’ are trying to blow up New York’s Manhattan with a nuclear attack. Indian Hindu groups have been shown as not only attempting to carry out a hideous attack but also framing Pakistan in the whole matter. The Jewish-American directed and Bangladeshi-American written show Quantico portrayed Hinduism in a bad light, when a terrorist in the show was seen wearing a rudraksha (hindu symbol), who reveals his identity to Alex Parrish played by Priyanka Chopra.This is not the first attempt by Hollywood to remain politically correct and not point out the real terror threat posed by Islamic terrorism. In Kingsman: The Secret Service, a 2014 action spy comedy film had Samuel L. Jackson as the villain. Samuel’s character Valentine wanted to kill 99% of the world’s population, and his attire features another symbol of Hinduism quite prominently throughout the movie, a large ‘OM’ pendant hangs from his neck. The movie did not explicitly show any such close links to Hinduism other than this, thankfully. But the latest episode of Quantico shows that hitting at the roots of Hinduism is a continuous and slow process, one which has been ongoing ever since the liberals decided that it was bad to portray Muslims as terrorists.
There are countless problems going on in the world and not one of them can trace its roots to Hinduism.While we understand that Quantico is a fictional series but portraying a whole religion in this manner is a despicable act. Quantico could lead to a perception that Indians have a terrorist mindset and Hinduism which is the most welcoming religion in the world might receive a major setback. As it is Hinduism did not had much exposure in the western countries till date, negative portrayal as a first impression could be dangerous for our religion and nation. In the show Pakistan’s portrayal as a victim of Indian Hindus who plans to malign their image in the country is pathetic. Considering the ground realities in India and Pakistan the show portrays everything opposite.
An old article published on December, 2016 which appeared in Vulture, clarifies why the show is targeting Hinduism. The article quotes showrunner Josh Safran as saying, “For me, it was important to not ever put a Muslim terrorist on our show. There hasn’t been one”. This political correctness by the ‘liberals’ from America shows what is wrong with the modern world. They think the best way out from calling a spade a spade is to target some unassuming person, religion, culture or nation which has no prior involvement. Quantico writer Sharbari Ahmed too found it convenient to target Hinduism and India as they were soft targets for her. She could not have made the criminal a Muslim from a Pakistani/Bangladeshi for the fear of targeting the Muslim Ummah. The liberal Jewish showrunner too would have faced backlash from the Muslim community around the globe for being anti-religion.
The storyline of the show is flawed, there is only so much that can be allowed to go on under creative freedom. Priyanka Chopra needs to be ashamed for her involvement in such a show which is trying to portray India and Hinduism in a bad light. The apologists will succeed in creating problems for Indians and Hindus around the world if this is not stopped today. Building an image is a continuous process, any attempt to hurt the image of India should be condemned openly and that is why Priyanka Chopra and the makers of the flop show Quantico need to be criticized at every possible level. It also must be noted that apologists and liberals are doing more harm than good.
