Actor Kangana Ranaut drew widespread flak after she said, during a media event, that India got ‘true freedom’ in 2014, the year Narendra Modi was sworn in as Prime Minister. She had also said that India’s freedom in 1947 was given as ‘bheek’ (alms). The latest to criticise Kangana’s comments is Kerala MP Shashi Tharoor who labelled her statements as “ridiculous”.
“I think she needs to read a history a little bit. I don't think she has a clue, unfortunately, if she really thinks that Mahatma Gandhi was going out with a begging goal when he was a man of tremendous pride and distinction who told the British your law is unjust I am breaking your law. Punish me as you wish...I'll take your punishment. Is that the act of a beggar,” Shashi Tharoor told NDTV.
Calling Kangana’s statements ‘ridiculous’ Tharoor said that India’s freedom movement was an act of “tremendous courage, moral rectitude, and great fortitude in handling and the strength that these people needed to show.”
Shashi Tharoor further said, “Imagine going defenseless and having those lathis rain down on you. Lala Lajpat Rai died from a lathi charge...hitting his head in a non-violent demonstration. That takes far more courage than going with a gun to shoot somebody and then being shot back."
At the Times Now Summit 2021, Kangana Ranaut had said, “Coming back to Savarkar, Lakshmibai, or Netaji Bose…these people knew that the blood will flow but it shouldn’t be Hindustani blood. They knew it. They paid a prize, of course. Woh azaadi nahi thi, woh bheek thi. Aur jo azaadi mili hai woh 2014 mai mili hai (That wasn’t freedom, those were alms. And we got real freedom in 2014.)”
Maharashtra BJP Chief and DCW Chief React to Kangana's Statement
After the clip from the media event went viral, Maharashtra BJP Chief Chandrakant Patil told reporters, "Kangana Ranaut's comment on the country's fight for Independence is completely wrong. Nobody has a right to pass a negative remark on the freedom movement,” according to PTI.
Delhi Commission of Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal also wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind urging him to take back Kangana Ranaut’s Padma Shri, a sentiment that many on social media echoed.
Shashi Tharoor Reacts to Vir Das 'Two Indias' Controversy
Tharoor also addressed the controversy surrounding Vir Das’ performance at the Kennedy Center in USA and said, “Let's be aware of what the foreign countries are saying about us, which in the past used to be a much more positive story and of late is not so.”
Vir Das performed a poem titled ‘Two Indias’ which many criticised for alleged “defamatory statements against India”. Some have also taken offence to the fact that Vir “insulted” India in another country. However, netizens have applauded Vir’s performance for talking about the country’s duality.
About Vir’s piece, Tharoor added, “And let's try and deal with the problems at home, if we solve the problems and the story will be better. To be honest, this business of massaging stories for propaganda, which is what the government and its acolytes seem to specialize in, will not resolve the actual substance of the issue.”
He also said, “As far as I'm concerned, it's the most patriotic thing you can do to criticize your government when it's going wrong.”
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)