Javed Akhtar and the Indian media are congratulating themselves for “dushman kay ghar mein ja kar usko marna” after his comments criticizing Pakistan for not taking strict action against the terrorists responsible for 26/11 Mumbai attacks went viral.
In an interview with NDTV channel, Akhtar claimed that Pakistanis had clapped when he had made the remark, and agreed with him.
“They all clapped. They agreed with me. There are many people who admire India, want to have a relationship with us. We tend to think of countries as monolith. That is not the case. How do we connect with millions of people, who want to connect with India,” he stated.
However, the statement is incorrect as according to the complete video of Javed Akhtar’s response to a question from an audience member, there was complete silence during his Mumbai comments.
Only after the host, Adeel Hashmi, asked another question can scattered applause be heard, signaling that the audience was applauding the end of a guest’s response to a question and not a specific comment like they had done before after Akhtar’s comment on Lata.
The audience did appreciate another comment by the Indian poet. Javed Akhtar had said that Indian musicians were not celebrated in Pakistan:
“We [India] have held concerts for people like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mehdi Hassan, but your country has not held a concert for Lata.”
This statement is also incorrect as Indian musicians and actors have been honored with some of the highest awards given by the Pakistani government and especially have been invited to talks in Pakistani cities.
Journalist Yusra Askari shared pictures of the Bollywood actors and singers who had received accolades in Pakistan.
