Javed Akhtar schools social media user who called him 'son of gaddar'
New Delhi: Veteran screenwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar hit out at a social media user who branded him "son of gaddar (traitor)", and said his family has been part of the Indian freedom movement since the Revolt of 1857. Mr Akhtar's retort came in response to the social media user's swipe at him over a post in which he commented on US President Joe Biden's chances of being re-elected.
"I am a proud Indian citizen and till my last breath I will remain so but I have one common fact with Joe Biden. Both of us have exactly equal chance of becoming the next president of USA (sic)" Mr Akhtar wrote on X.
The social media user had commented on the industry veteran's post and called him "a son of Gaddar who divided our nation" on religious lines.
Mr Akhtar, known for his vocal views on a range of topics, clapped back at the user on Saturday and replied: "It is difficult to decide whether you are totally ignorant or a complete idiot."
"From 1857 my family has been involved with freedom movement n has gone to jails and Kala paani when most probably your baap dadas were licking the boots of Angrez sarkar (sic)."
The 79-year-old writer is the son of lyricist-poet Jan Nisar Akhtar, who was an active part of the Progressive Writers' Movement in pre-Partition British India, and writer Safiya Siraj-ul Haq.
His great great grandfather Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi was a freedom fighter who participated in the 1857 rebellion against the rule of the British East India Company. Khairabadi was sentenced to life in prison in the Cellular Jail, also known as Kala Paani, on the Andaman Islands where he also died in 1864.
On the same X thread, Mr Akhtar further wrote that former US first lady Michelle Obama can "save USA" from ex-president Donald Trump, Biden's Republican opponent in the upcoming elections.
"I have expressed my opinion quite a few times in the past and still stand by it that the only one who can save USA from Trump is Michelle Obama (sic)." he said.
I am a proud Indian citizen and till my last breath I will remain so but I have one common fact with Joe Biden . Both of us have exactly equal chance of becoming the next president of USA .
— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) July 6, 2024
It is difficult to decide whether you are totally ignorant or a complete idiot . From 1857 my family has been involved with freedom movement n has gone to jails and Kala paani when most probably your baap dadas were licking the boots of Angrez sarkar
— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) July 6, 2024
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Manipur: Mortal remains of children killed in bomb attack handed over to family
Imphal (PTI): The mortal remains of two children, who were killed in a bomb attack in Manipur's Bishnupur district in April, were handed over to family members on Saturday, officials said.
The bodies of the five-year-old boy and his six-month-old sister were kept in the morgue for 25 days, as the family members had refused to accept the mortal remains, demanding that the perpetrators be brought to book at the earliest.
On April 25, Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh had appealed to the family members of the children to accept the bodies. Singh had also said that all efforts were underway to find the culprits.
The two children were killed in a bomb attack at Tronglaobi in Bishnupur district on April 7. Their bodies were kept in the morgue at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal.
The incident had triggered widespread violent protests in the five valley districts of Manipur, and the case was subsequently handed over to the NIA.
Hundreds of people lined up along the way to Tronglaobi to offer floral tributes, as the mortal remains were taken for the last rites in an open vehicle earlier in the day.
