If the choice is between Pakistan and hell, I would prefer hell: Javed Akhtar
New Delhi, May 18 (PTI): Noted lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar, who is often targeted for his views on patriotism and religion, says that if there comes a time he has to choose between Pakistan and hell, he would prefer to go to hell.
Akhtar, 80, was speaking at Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut's book launch on Saturday night in Mumbai.
At the event, the lyricist -- who identifies himself as an atheist -- said extremists from both India and Pakistan shower abuses on him on a daily basis.
"Some day, I'll show you my Twitter (now X) and WhatsApp. I am abused by both sides. I'm not thankless so I'll say there are also people who appreciate what I say, encourage me. But it's true that extremists from both here and there abuse me. This is right. If one of them stops abusing me, it'll be a matter of concern for me.
"One side says 'You are a kaafir (non-believer) and will go to hell. The other side says, 'Jihadi, go to Pakistan'. If the choice is between Pakistan and hell, I would prefer to go to hell," Akhtar said amid a round of applause from the audience.
The award-winning writer further said it's important to have citizens not subscribing to the ideology of any political party.
"That way they can say what they feel is right and what is wrong. There should be no party loyalty. All parties are ours and yet no party is ours. I'm also one of those citizens. If you speak from one side, you'll make the other side unhappy. But if you speak out from different points of view, you make many more people unhappy," he added.
Akhtar, who came to Mumbai at the age of 19, credited the city and Maharashtra for all his achievements.
In his last 30 years of living in Mumbai, the veteran poet said he was given police protection four times on threat perception, out of which three times because of "mullahs".
Last month, Akhtar said in an interview with PTI there is hardly "any warmth today" in India-Pakistan cultural ties, the veteran screenwriter-poet noted while saying that this is not the time to even think about whether Pakistani artists should be allowed to work in India.
His comments came after "Abir Gulaal", a film featuring Pakistani star Fawad Khan, was not allowed to release in theatres in India in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack.
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Dense fog disrupts operations at Delhi airport; 228 flights cancelled, 5 diverted
New Delhi (PTI): Dense fog disrupted flight operations at Delhi Airport on Monday, with various airlines cancelling 228 flights and diverting five to nearby airports due to low visibility, an official said.
However, except for Air India, which had in an X post in the morning announced the cancellation of some 40 flights, no other airlines, including crisis-hit IndiGo, shared the numbers of their cancelled or delayed flights.
"As many as 228 flights -- 131 departures and 97 arrivals-- have been cancelled due to low visibility, so far," the airport official said.
In addition to this, five flights have been diverted so far, he said.
Earlier, the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), in a statement, said, "Our on-ground officials are working closely with all stakeholders to assist passengers and provide necessary support across Terminals.
"Low visibility (below minima), due to dense fog, has severely impacted operations at Delhi and other airports across northern India, which is unfortunately beyond our control," IndiGo said in a statement.
As operations are adjusted to prevailing weather conditions, some flights may experience delays, while a few others may be proactively cancelled during the day to prioritise safety and minimise extended waiting at the airport, the airline said in a statement.
IndiGo, however, did not say how many of its flights were cancelled or delayed.
The airline said its teams are "closely monitoring" the situation and coordinating with Delhi airport.
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IndiGo also said it issued advisories to its customers and "proactively" informing them, to minimise inconvenience.
“Poor visibility due to dense fog in Delhi this morning has impacted flight operations for all airlines. We are closely monitoring conditions and will resume operations as soon as it is safe to do so,” Air India said in a post on X in the morning.
It also said that some flights have been cancelled In the interest of safety, and to avoid prolonged uncertainty for the guests, while listing out some 40 arrivals and departures that it had cancelled for the day.
Delhi airport is the country's busiest, handling around 1,300 flight movements daily.
