Zaira Wasim opens up about battle with depression
Mumbai, May 11: Actress Zaira Wasim, 17, who courted fame with "Dangal" and "Secret Superstar", says she has been suffering from depression for over four years, but was pushed into a "bubble of denial"
The National Award winner opened up about her struggle via a lengthy post shared on Instagram on Thursday night.
"I'm writing this to (finally) admit and confess that I, for a very long time have been suffering from depression," Zaira wrote.
She said she has been "embarrassed and scared" to admit it not only because of the stigma that goes around with the word depression, but most importantly because of always being told that 'You're too young to be depressed' or 'It's just a phase'".
The young and talented girl from Srinagar said she has sometimes popped five antidepressants everyday, faced anxiety attacks, was rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night, felt empty, restless, anxious and hallucinated, apart from having sore limbs from sleeping too much or not being able to sleep for weeks.
"From overeating to starving myself, unexplained fatigue, body ache, self loathing, nervous breakdowns, suicidal thoughts, were all parts of this phase," said Zaira, who made her debut with Aamir Khan's 2016 drama "Dangal".
Zaira said she knew something wasn't right for her, however, people and doctors around her told her, "It's nothing, you're too young to be depressed".
Her first panic attack was at the age of 12, and another one at 14.
"Now all I remember is losing count of the number of panic attacks, losing count of the number of medicines I've had and I'm still having..."
Zaira said she could never accept the fact that she suffers from a disorder called depression, which "affects almost 350 million people worldwide; without asking for their permission to ruin their mental and emotional state or asking them their age".
Depression and anxiety is not a feeling, she said.
"It's an illness. It's not somebody's choice or fault. It can affect anyone, anytime."
Now she has embraced it and understood it, and decided to share about the struggle "without being ashamed, embarrassed and having the fear of being judged for it".
Zaira said perhaps a "complete break from everything, my social life, my work, school and especially social media", might help her.
"I'm really looking forward to the holy month of Ramadan as it may be the perfect opportunity to figure things out. Please remember me in your prayers."
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Congress cites Maniben Patel's diary entries, asks Rajnath to apologise for Babri claim
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Saturday shared diary entries of Vallabhbhai Patel's daughter from a book to rebut Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's claim that India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds, and demanded that Singh apologise for spreading "falsehoods".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, claimed the defence minister was spreading falsehoods to “improve his relationship” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Here is Maniben's original diary entry in Gujarati on pages 212-213 in the book ‘Samarpit Padchhayo Sardarno’ by CA R S Patel 'Aaresh', published by Sardar Patel Vallabhbhai Patel Memorial Society, 2025,” Ramesh said on X, sharing screenshots of the relevant pages from the book.
“There is a huge difference between what is contained in the original diary entry and what Rajnath Singh ji and his fellow ‘distorians’ are propagating,” Ramesh said.
“The Defence Minister must apologise for the falsehoods he is spreading, simply to improve his relationship with the PM,” he claimed.
The Congress had earlier termed Singh's claim that Nehru wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds a “lie” and “WhatsApp university story”, and said the defence minister should not walk in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's path.
Addressing a gathering at Sadhli village in Gujarat's Vadodara district last Tuesday, Singh said Nehru wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds, but Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel didn't allow his plans to succeed.
The BJP had cited a book by Vallabhbhai Patel's daughter to double down on Singh's claims, and said the first prime minister also said he felt "repelled" by some of the temples in south India despite their beauty.
“The source of what Rajnath Singh said is the 'Inside Story of Sardar Patel, Diary of Maniben Patel'," BJP Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi had said at a press conference at the party headquarters while responding to media queries on the issue.
Trivedi claimed that on Page 24 of the book, it is written that Nehru also raised the question of the Babri mosque, but Sardar Patel made it clear that the government could not spend any money on building a mosque.
