Reaction on Rehman’s biased statement, ‘Nasreen enumerated the problems of common people’
After AR Rahman’s recent interview, a new debate has erupted regarding alleged communal discrimination in Bollywood. Famous writer and human rights activist Taslima Nasreen has also given her reaction on this issue. Rahman’s comments gave rise to heated discussions on social media, after which the musician had to clarify his statement.
When did the dispute start?
This whole matter started when AR Rahman had participated in a program of BBC Asian Network. There he was asked whether being from Tamil background had an impact on his Bollywood career. In response to this question, some people linked Rehman’s words with communal context, after which the online debate intensified. In this context, Taslima Nasreen expressed her opinion by sharing a long post on the social media platform X.
Taslima Nasreen wrote that fame, money and success often protect people from discrimination. He said that AR Rahman is one of the most popular musicians of India and his fees are also very high. According to him, saying that he is not getting work just because he is a Muslim does not reflect the whole truth. Giving examples, Nasreen mentioned names like Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi and said that despite being Muslims, all of them are at the top in the industry.
Taslima Nasreen shared her personal experience
Sharing her personal experience, Taslima Nasreen said that the real discrimination has to be faced by common and weak people. He wrote that because of his name, people consider him a Muslim and refuse to give him a house on rent. She also said that being an atheist, she had to face violence and social boycott in many places, so much so that she could not even step into some cities. According to him, these problems are completely different from the lives of AR Rahman or big Bollywood stars.
Regarding her status in India, Nasreen wrote that she is not a citizen here, but loves the country. She said that she never compromises on principles and ideas, no matter how difficult the circumstances are. He also mentioned that deep misconceptions still exist in the society regarding atheism.
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What did Taslima Nasreen say in the statement?
At the end of her statement, Taslima Nasreen said that people of all religions and ideologies respect AR Rahman equally, hence it is not appropriate to show sympathy on him. At the same time, after the controversy escalated, AR Rahman released a video message and made it clear that his intention was never to hurt any sentiments. He said that music is a medium for him to connect with and respect the Indian culture and India is like his inspiration, guru and home.
In his original interview, Rahman also admitted that the environment of the Hindi film industry has changed over the years, and although he has never experienced overt discrimination, the changes cannot be denied.
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