New Delhi:
Members of the opposition being part of the outreach delegations to various countries following Operation Sindoor is a welcome step because the Pahalgam terror attack was not carried out on the government, but India as a whole, noted lyricist and scriptwriter Javed Akhtar has said.
In an over 30-minute discussion at NDTV’s Creators’ Manch on Friday, Mr Akhtar also spoke about where the real power centre in Pakistan lies and the row over the casting of Pakistani actor Hania Amir in Diljit Dosanjh’s film ‘Sardaar Ji 3’.
Asked if including leaders like the Congress’ Shashi Tharoor and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi in the outreach delegations was a calculated move by the government, the lyricist said in Hindi, “The Pahalgam terror attack was not on the government, it was an attack on the country. So everyone in the country will go. Among the people (who were part of the delegations) are some who keep attacking the government. But when it comes to the country, we are all one… the other issues are internal ones and we will keep talking about them internally,” the lyricist said.
Mr Akhtar said Mr Tharoor is very articulate and he was happy the Congress leader led one of the delegations, because he has diplomatic experience at the United Nations. “This is an issue that concerns the country, and that’s when everyone is one. That is how it should be. This is not about a political party,” he said.
On the relationship between India and Pakistan, Mr Akhtar said it feels like this is the worst phase because it is a fresh wound, but pointed out that the 1965 war and the Kargil war had also happened.
“Each time, the government in Pakistan tries to wash its hands of what’s happening and claims it wasn’t involved. In 1948, they said tribals had entered Kashmir; during the Kargil war, they said they did not know who had gone there. Similarly, in Pahalgam, they said they did not know anything about the attack. This is nothing new, it’s what they do,” he said.
‘Not A Monolith’
The lyricist stressed, however, that no country is a monolith and crores of people in Pakistan want friendship with India, but this does not suit the country’s government, army and right wing.
“It suits the common people there, and why won’t it? India is such a big market, it has great universities, a rich culture… so young people from there will want to come here and work… in the entertainment industry and the corporate sphere. Businessmen would also want to collaborate with Indian businesses, how are all of them benefiting from strained ties? They only lose because of this,” he said.
Mr Akhtar said even the US knows where the real power centre in Pakistan lies and that democracy in the country is a sham.
“Those who benefit are the right wing in Pakistan, because their existence depends on hatred for India and the country’s army, because it’ll have to stay in the barracks if there is no confrontation with India. Even when the American president wanted to talk to Pakistan, he could have spoken to the president or prime minister, but he knew where the real power lies, so he called their army chief Asim Munir. This made it clear that their democracy is a sham and the army rules the country. So, how will good relations with India suit them?” he pointed out.
The lyricist repeated that it would not be in India’s interest to treat Pakistan as a monolith. Indians, he said, should encourage people in Pakistan who admire and love India.
Diljit Row
On the row over the casting of Pakistani actor Hania Amir in Diljit Dosanjh’s ‘Sardaar Ji 3’, Mr Akhtar said it was pointless because the movie had been shot earlier. “How was he to know? Pakistan will not lose money (because of this), our countryman will… Laws can’t be applied retrospectively… The Censor Board and the government should look at this sympathetically. They can say it shouldn’t happen again,” he suggested.
One way of bettering the relationship between the countries when things weren’t as bad as they are now, the scriptwriter said, would have been for artistes from both sides to make movies with the involvement of the governments.
