Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah recently claimed that in 1999 the Kandahar hijack (IC 814) could have released a fresh wave of Islamophobia in Bharat. Additionally, he was thankful for the incident for not creating anguish against the Ummah in India. These insensitive statements caused a storm online.
His unfortunate words and sentiments are part of a disturbing trend emerging in India, particularly within sections of the Muslim community. The Ummah conveniently uses the victim card to deflect scrutiny and accountability for radical elements. Let’s delve deeper into the real issue of Islamophobia, terrorism, and the manipulation of facts to serve a particular agenda!
Naseeruddin Shah Propogating Pro-Islamist Agenda?
Naseeruddin Shah’s statement on IC 814 comes at a time when critical questions are being raised about the glorification of Islamists. The society of Bharat is asking why the media loves to demonize Hindus needlessly. The entertainment industry’s narratives focus on creating fake relatability of heinous to Hindu pandits and gurus. Even known crimes committed by Islamists are portrayed using Hindu identity in the name of artistic creativity.
The reality of Bollywood is that they prefer to align with Muslims of Palestine but refuse to acknowledge the anti-Hindu pogroms in Bangladesh!
The pin-drop-silence of Bollywood on Bangldeshi pogroms is symbolic of how the silver screen protects the Ummah’s radicalism. Thus, the statements by Naseeruddin Shah remarks follow the well-trodden path of shifting the focus away from crimes committed by Islamist radicals. And they also attempt to reinforce a false narrative of victimization using “Islamophobia.” Shah seems unable to face the fact that if the truth propagates Islamophobia, then Islamists are criminals that society should reject!
The IC 814 Hijack: What Really Happened!
The 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight IC 814 is one of the darkest chapters in India’s aviation history. A plane en route to Delhi from Kathmandu was hijacked by five radical Islamists and diverted to Kandahar, Afghanistan. The hijackers, armed with knives and explosives, held 170 people hostage for seven excruciating days. Their demands included the release of three dangerous terrorists: Maulana Masood Azhar (the founder of Jaish-e-Mohammed), Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh (a British terrorist later involved in the murder of journalist Daniel Pearl), and Mushtaq Zargar. They also wanted $200 million and the body of a dead terrorist brother in arms!
The BJP-led government agreed to release these terrorists after all political parties agreed to the decision.
Sonia Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, and others were present at these meetings.
The IC 814 webseries on Netflix India showcases the entire 8-day ordeal. However, the real names of the Islamists are not revealed. The series only uses their Hindu codenames! Additionally, the series attempts to highlight the BJP’s inability to deal with terrorism! The series glorifies Islamists and tries to humanize them while failing to address their ethnicity or religion.
In all of this, the primary concer of Naseeruddin Shah wasn’t the lives lost or the terror unleashed. He doesn’t even blink about the fear-filled eight days. Instead, he fears the truth would awaken the sleeping Sanatnis of Bharat to unleash a wave of Islamophobia. He prefers to focus on the hypothetical backlash against Islamic terrorists instead of condemning the real issue of Islamic terrorism. Naseeuddin Shah distracts the eye from the true horror of the hijacking of IC 814!
Hiding Behind the Ummah: Deflecting Accountability
#WATCH | Netflix सीरीज IC184 The Kandahar Hijack को लेकर विवाद के बीच वायरल होता नसीरुद्दीन शाह का पुराना वीडियो
जिसमें बॉलीवुड अभिनेता नसीरुद्दीन शाह कह रहे हैं कि उन्हें पाकिस्तान में डर नहीं लगता। बल्कि उन्हें ऐसा लगता है कि वे अपने घर आ गए हैं।
लेकिन उन्हें भारत में डर… pic.twitter.com/8ljTF1AsMK
— TheRitamApp | द ऋतम् एप (@TheRitamApp) September 4, 2024
Naseerudding Shah’s comment is a symptom of the mental disease of the Ummah. The Muslim community, especially its radical elements, refuses to conform to the national identity of India. They prefer the identity of Muslims before accepting their duty as Indians. This preference leads to placing Mulsim causes above Indian causes. Hence, Shah’s remarks about Islamophobia mirror a broader issue within the Islamist community.
Indian Muslims are Taught to be unwilling to fully associate with the identity of Bharat.
Instead, sections of the Muslim population prefer to side with the global Islamic Ummah, even when their actions contradict the interests of India. This disconnect with national pride is evident in their reluctance to outright condemn terrorism or radical Islamic violence.
In the case of IC 814 Netflix’s series, the adaptation received backlash for whitewashing the truth about the identities of the terrorists involved. The series initially portrayed the hijackers with their Hindu codenames only! This caused a massive outrage on social media. Only after pressure from audiences and Indian authorities did Netflix update its disclaimer with the real names of the Muslim hijackers. The deliberate misrepresentation of facts, however, speaks volumes about how sections of the media and filmmakers.
Like Naseeruddin Shah, Bollywood prefers to deflect from the truth of Islamic radicalism to demonize Hindus.
The Islamophobia Narrative: A Convenient Victim Card
Naseeruddin Shah and his comments also reflect how Islamophobia is a weapon of “Victim Card Mentality”! It’s a tool for Islamists to hide the reality of their criminal or anti-India activities. The argument that “Not all Muslims are terrorists, but most terrorists are Muslims” cannot be ignored when we look at the data.
Despite forming less than 20% of the population, Muslims make up around 35% of criminals or detainees involved in heinous crimes.
Yet, whenever questions about radical elements within the Muslim community arise, the Islamophobia card is swiftly deployed to silence criticism.
The Islamic community refuses to introspect and denounce the radicals within its ranks. Instead, they tend to accuse anyone who questions these elements of Islamophobia. Thereby, creating a dangerous narrative that allows radicalism to spread unchecked! This tactic of the Ummah shifts the focus from the real issue of Islamic radicalism. And it hides the reality behind a perceived victimization that lacks any substantial basis.
Kandahar Hijack: The Truth vs. the Narrative
While Shah and his ilk push the narrative of rising Islamophobia, the truth about IC 814 and other terrorist incidents speaks for itself. The hijackers of IC 814 were radical Muslims, trained and funded by Pakistan’s ISI. Their goal was to secure the release of dangerous terrorists who went on to commit more heinous crimes against India. The released terrorists unleashed many attacks in Bharat.
The known list of attacks caused by these radicals are:
- 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament
- 2008 Mumbai attacks
- 2019 Pulwama attack
Yet, the concern of Naseeruddin Shah wasn’t with the 150 victims, Rupin Katyal who lost his life, or the families forever scarred by this tragedy. His concern is the supposed Islamophobia that never truly manifested after the hijacking. By focusing on Islamophobia, Shah shames the true victims and Bharat. And also detracts from the real issue of Islamic terrorism. This victim card is a convenient deflection, shielding the community from any responsibility or introspection. To ignore this fact in favor of promoting a false narrative of victimhood is not just misleading, it is dangerous.
The Real Victim Is Bharat, Not Islam
BIG NEWS 🚨 Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah said "I feared that Kandhar Hijack might lead to a new wave of Islamophobia"
Give your comments!!
"I was deeply disturbed. The whole situation left me feeling uneasy, even after the crisis was resolved"
Last year he said "It’s… pic.twitter.com/6kIgL5rJGO
— Times Algebra (@TimesAlgebraIND) September 3, 2024
The statements by Naseeruddin Shah regarding the 1999 Kandahar hijack are more than just the musings of an aging actor. They reflect a calculated effort to shift the blame from radical Islam and its violent tendencies. Movies like Kashmir Files, Kerala Story, and Ajmer 1992 scare this sections of society. While hidden Islamic indentity series like IC 814, or anit-Hindu Maharaj fills them hope!
Thus, Shah’s feelings aligns with the global Ummah’s false narrative of Islamophobia vs. the reality of Hinduphobia. In doing so, Shah and others like him undermine the very fabric of Bharat and Hindusim. And they endanger the lives of ordinary citizens by refusing to confront the reality of Islamist terror.
The real victims of the IC 814 hijacking were the passengers, the families, and the nation that was forced to agree to the demands of terrorists.
The narrative of Islamophobia as presented by Shah is nothing more than a smokescreen to hide the uncomfortable truth. Radical Islamists continue to pose a grave threat to Bharat and the world. Playing the victim card enables these elements to continue their work unchecked. Indian Muslims need to weed out and shame such individuals to ensure that terrorism and Islamic radicalism stop. Else, soon these elements would take over the narrative of Islam and leave behind a scarred society in its wake!
