“In the past, Hindu right-wing groups would not indulge in violence. They would hold a dialogue with opponents. But now they resort to violence.”
Kamal Haasan. Credit: PTI
New Delhi: Actor Kamal Haasan, who has lately been in the news for his expected entry into politics, today said that Hindu right-wing outfits cannot deny the existence of “Hindu terror”.
“In the past, Hindu right-wing groups would not indulge in violence. They would hold a dialogue with opponents. But now they resort to violence,” Haasan said.
In his regular column in the popular Tamil weekly news magazine Ananda Vikatan, he wrote, “The Hindus cannot challenge others to show extremists among them since extremism has spread to that extent even among the Hindus”. Hindus are losing faith in satyameva jayate and instead subscribing to ‘might is right’.”
Haasan’s column, titled ‘One cannot say there is no Hindu terror anymore’, was in response to a question by Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Vijayan had asked the actor to express his view on Hindutva forces and its attempt to “dilute Tamil culture”.
Haasan, who has accused the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in Tamil Nadu of corruption, had visited Vijayan in September and said “saffron is not my colour” to signal an aversion to any affiliation with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy responded to Haasan’s claim of ‘Hindu terror’ and called him a “morally corrupt person”. Swamy told Times Now, “If he has such an inclination, he should report it to the authorities. There is no Hindu terrorist organisation. Kamal Haasan is a morally corrupt person, he can do anything at any time; he cannot be taken seriously. The NIA should visit him and ask him if he has any proof”.
Rakesh Sinha, who belongs to the BJP’s ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), tweeted, “Kamal Haasan must apologise for hurting Hindu civilisation, defaming it, trying to create provocation for his petty political end”.
.@ikamalhaasan must apologise for hurting Hindu civilisation ,defaming it , trying to create provocation for his petty political end.
— Prof Rakesh Sinha (@RakeshSinha01) November 2, 2017
Haasan has been talking of entering politics for several months now. Last week, he told fans to be ready for “a big announcement” on November 7, his birthday.
Apologising for supporting demonetisation, actor Kamal Hassan had said in October that he will again salute Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he accepts that the note ban was a mistake. In an article in the Tamil magazine Anandavikatan, the actor had said accepting and correcting mistakes is a marker for great leaders which Mahatma Gandhi was able to do.
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