Chanting 'Bharat mata ki jai' is my right: Javed Akhtar in impassioned retirement speech in Rajya Sabha

March 16, 2016

New Delhi, Mar 16: Retiring as Rajya Sabha member, noted film personality Javed Akhtar said on Tuesday that "adjournaments" and "polarisation" will not take the country forward. He pleaded with the Opposition and the government to work together without thinking about the next elections. Taking a break from the usual uproar, the different political parties in the Upper House, were seen cheering Akhtar, unanimously.

AkhtarAkhtar, who was nominated to the Upper House by the UPA government, said there are capable leaders in the Modi

government who can do good work but those making extremist comments, need to be reined in.

"I hope both Opposition and the government will work together. Adjournments will not take us forward. Even

polarisation will not take us forward. Please forget next election and think about the country," he said in his

impassioned speech. The house listened to him in rapt silence and occasionally burst into applause after a particularly good statement.

The film lyricist slyly slammed AIMIM leader and MP Asaddudin Owaisi for saying that he won’t chant 'Bharat mata ki jai' because the Constitution does not ask him to do so.

Taking a dig at Owaisi's constitutional rights, Akhtar said, "the Constitution even does not ask him to wear sherwani (dress) and topi (cap)... I don't care to know whether saying 'Bharat mata ki jai' is my duty or not but it is my right."

He went on to chant 'Bharat mata ki jai' a number of times.

He also condemned the right-wing extremists who say Muslims should go to Pakistan.

Underlining that there cannot be democracy without secularism, Akhtar said protecting secularism is not about

protecting one community or the other. "We need to protect secularism because there cannot be democracy without it. I believe this is our greatest achievement."

On religious freedom, Akhtar said time does not stop and the country either would move forward or backward.

"One who learns from experience is intelligent. But those who learn from others' experiences are more intelligent. Look at those countries where religion is given importance, where the tongue is cut and people are hanged if they speak against the religion. Whether that country should be an example for us or a country where there is religious freedom. We have to think," he asked.

Expressing concern over lack of development in the country, Akhtar said India has industrialised and become a big

power now but "more could have been achieved. Anyway whatever has been achieved is no less."

At the same time, he said, "We need to think why there is no development despite there being government and system in place? We want development but whose development and for whom? we need to think."

He added, "Development is not GDP. Development is Human Development Index. Be it any party, they wish the development of the countyr. Why our energies are wasted?"

On democracy, he said, "We are fortunate to have democracy though we complain about the government and society.

We don't thank what we have with us. We don't thank enough to our constitution. ...The constitution gives democracry. But remember, there cannot be democracry without secularism."

He said that the meaning of democracy is taking views of the majority and not minority. "But the democracy believes

that majority and minority is not permanent. They keep changing. The democracy will die the day we define minority

and majority in our own way."

Emphasising the need to protect secularism, Akhtar said protecting secularism is not about protecting one community or the other. "We need to protect secularism because there cannot be democracy without it. I believe this is our greatest achievement."

Besides democracy and the Constitution, Akhtar said India has youth power unlike Japan and China.

"The country's 50 per cent of the population is young. 35 crore people are youth and in age group of 10-15 years.

They have lot of energy and talent," adding, "Japan has lost this advantage and China is losing this advantage. You have 20 years to take advantage of the youth power. Both Opposition and the government have to think about it," he said.

Comments

Zoh
 - 
Friday, 18 Mar 2016

I dont think Javed saab knows anything about Islam. If he has little knowledge also, he would not have commented such nonsense. People like Kabir khan, SRK, Javed Akther, there are some more who are bothered about their status in bollywood. They even forgot that they have to Die & meet their manufacturer. Fools like him will make comment without any knowledge of the Religion. Javed Saab please dont comment if you are not 100% sure what are u saying

sadiq
 - 
Thursday, 17 Mar 2016

MUslim will not say this words bcz we believe whole world is created by allah .at the time of death we need shahada kalima if we say bharat mata ki we will not be able to say shahada may allah guide us ameen

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News Network
January 8,2020

New Delhi, Jan 8: Actor Kangana Ranaut on Wednesday applauded director Meghna Gulzar and actor Deepika Padukone for making 'Chhapaak', a film based on acid-attack victims.

Kangana's sister Rangoli Chandel who herself is an acid-attack survivor took to Twitter to share a video of the actor where she is seen extending thanks to Gulzar and Padukone for making a film on the important issue.

"I saw the trailer of the film 'Chhapaak' recently, and after watching it I was reminded of the incident of acid attack on my sister Rangoli. Today, I and my family thank Meghna Gulzar and Deepika (Padukone) that they made a film on this issue. This will give courage to those people who gave up on their life after struggling with it," said Ranaut in the video.

"This film has placed a tight slap on the face of those monsters who succeeded in their act but not in their will. With this film, all those faces will glow that have been spoiled and their courage was broken by these monsters and the beauty of their spirit," the 'Panga' actor said.

Congratulating the team of the film, Kangana added, "I wish that with this New Year the sale of acid gets prohibited so that this country becomes free of acid-attacks. In the end many many congratulations to the team 'Chhapaak'."

The movie is based on the real-life acid attack survivor of Laxmi, who at the age of 15, was attacked allegedly by a spurned lover in 2005. Laxmi had to undergo several surgeries. Later, she took up the job of helping acid attack survivors and promoted campaigns to stop such attacks.

'Chhapaak' is being helmed by Meghna Gulzar and is being co-produced by Deepika and Fox Star Studios. The movie is set to hit theatres on January 10, 2020.

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News Network
January 28,2020

Mumbai, Jan 28: A 33-year-old woman has written to the National Commission for Women (NCW) alleging that Bollywood choreographer Ganesh Acharya used to make her watch porn videos whenever she visited his office in Mumbai.

In a complaint filed with the police, the woman, an assistant choreographer, has alleged that Acharya and two women assaulted her during a function of the Indian Film and Television Choreographers Association (IFTCA) held in suburban Andheri on Sunday.

Besides Acharya, the complainant, Divya Kotian, has named Jayashree Kelkar and Preeti Lad in her complaint for assault, a police official said on Tuesday.

Calls made to Acharya for his reaction remained unanswered.

In her letter to the NCW, Kotian, a resident of suburban Bhayandar, claimed that Acharya forced her to watch adult videos whenever she visited his office.

In her complaint with Amboli police station, Kotian alleged that Acharya was demanding a commission from her for working in the film industry.

Kotian is also a member of the IFTCA.

Acharya, who was elected as a general secretary of the IFTCA, used to frequently call the complainant at the office in Andheri, the police official said quoting the complaint.

On January 26, when Kotian reached the IFTCA office, Acharya shouted at her and announced that she was being "suspended", he said.

Acharya grew furious after Kotian told him that she is a member of the IFTCA and allegedly asked his team member, Jayashree Kelkar, to slap her, the police official said.

"Kelkar and Preeti Lad hit me in public view which was captured on the CCTV," the complaint stated.

Police have registered a non-cognisable (NC) offence and investigating, the official added.

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News Network
February 26,2020

New York, Feb 26: Disney CEO Bob Iger, who steered the company’s absorption of Star Wars, Pixar, Marvel and Fox’s entertainment businesses and the launch of a Netflix challenger, is stepping down immediately, the company said in a surprise announcement Tuesday.

The Walt Disney Co. named as his replacement Bob Chapek, most recently chairman of Disney’s parks, experiences and products business.

“Did not see this coming -- Wowza,” tweeted LightShed media analyst Rich Greenfield.

Iger will remain executive chairman through the end of his contract on Dec. 31, 2021. Besides leading the board, Iger said he will spend more time on Disney’s creative endeavors, including the ESPN sports network, the newly acquired Fox studios and the Hulu and Disney Plus streaming services. He said he could not do that while running Disney on a day-to-day basis.

“It was not accelerated for any particular reason other than I felt the need was now to make this change,” Iger said on a conference call with reporters and analysts.

Iger steered Disney through the successful purchases of Lucasfilms, Marvel, Pixar and other brands that became big moneymakers for Disney. Last year, the top five movies in U.S. and Canada theaters were all Disney movies, including two from Marvel and one from Pixar. With the Dec. 20 release of the latest “Star Wars” movie, Disney had seven movies that each sold at least $1 billion in tickets worldwide last year.

Iger’s most recent coup was orchestrating a $71 billion purchase of Fox’s entertainment business in March and launching the Disney Plus streaming service in November. That service got nearly 29 million paid subscribers in less than three months. In a statement, Iger said it was the “optimal time” for a transition.

Pivotal Research Group analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak said Iger had implied he would stay until his contract ended in 2021.

“On the other hand, they just successfully closed the Fox deal and had an unquestionably successful launch of Disney Plus so maybe he felt earlier was better to hand off the reins,” he said.

Colin Gillis, director of research at Chatham Road Partners, said the choice of Chapek seems solid because his parks division has had success.

Chapek said that while he has not led television networks or streaming services, his background in consumer-oriented businesses should help. Chapek and Iger both stressed that Disney would continue on the direction it had already been taking.

Disney is facing challenges to its traditional media business as cord-cutting picks up, meaning less fees from cable and satellite companies to carry Disney networks such as ABC, ESPN and Freeform. Disney’s own streaming services require the company to forgo money in licensing revenue, although the company is betting that money from subscriptions will eventually make up for that.

In the short term, Disney parks in Hong Kong and Shanghai, China, remain closed because of the coronavirus outbreak. In a CNBC interview, Chapek said the outbreak may be a “bump in the road,” but he said the company could weather it given “affinity for the brand.”

Iger told CNBC he had no plans to stay with Disney beyond next year.

Iger’s appointment as CEO in 2005 had been accompanied by controversy and protest from dissident shareholders Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold. But he has come to be seen as a golden-boy top executive, and even someone who could run for president.

Iger told Vogue in 2018 that he had started seriously exploring a run for president because he is “horrified at the state of politics in America today,” but the Fox deal stopped his plans. Oprah Winfrey told Vogue that she “really, really pushed him to run.”

Iger, a former weatherman, joined ABC in 1974, 22 years before Disney bought the network.

At ABC, Iger developed such successful programs as “Home Improvement,” “The Drew Carey Show,” and “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and was instrumental in launching the quiz show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” He was also criticized for cancelling well-regarded but expensive shows such as “Twin Peaks” and “thirtysomething.”

Since Iger became CEO, Disney’s stock price has risen fivefold. Its stock fell more than 2% in extended trading following the announcement, on top of a broader market selloff on virus fears during regular trading.

Iger, 69, was the second-highest paid CEO in 2018, as calculated by The Associated Press and Equilar, an executive data firm. He earned $65.6 million. The top earner was Discovery’s David Zaslav who earned $129.5 million.

Susan Arnold, the independent lead director of the Disney board, said succession planning had been ongoing for several years.

Chapek, 60, is only the seventh CEO in Disney history. Chapek was head of the parks, experiences and products division since it was created in 2018. He was previously head of parks and resorts and before that president of consumer products.

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