Singer Adnan Sami becomes Indian citizen, says no intolerance

January 1, 2016

New Delhi, Jan 1: There is no intolerance in India, says Pakistan-born singer Adnan Sami after becoming an Indian citizen today.

A smiling Sami also sang his famous song - "Teri oonchi shaan hai maula...Mujhko bhi to lift kara de"- after he received a citizenship certificate from Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju at North Block here in the presence of his wife Roya.

adnanAsked about concerns expressed by actors Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan about alleged growing intolerance in India, the 46-year-old singer said everyone was entitled to his or her own opinion and their remarks were perhaps based on their own experience.

"Had there been intolerance, I would not have taken Indian citizenship. I have never experienced intolerance. There is no intolerance in India," he said.

The singer said he was very happy after becoming Indian citizen and grateful to the government.

"I am grateful to the government of India for giving me this beautiful gift," he said.

Asked how he felt after becoming an Indian citizen, Sami said there was no difference as the taste of 'biryanis' was same in both the countries. "And I have had enough of 'biryanis' in both Pakistan and India," he said.

The singer said there was mixed reaction in Pakistan on his taking Indian citizenship but his family understands his love for India and its people.

Asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Lahore, Sami said he was very happy that Modi had visited Pakistan and was making efforts to improve relations with the country.

"I personally believe in the philosophy of 'love thy neighbour'," he said. Home Ministry officials said Sami has been given Indian citizenship following his request to the Centre to legalise his status in the country on humanitarian grounds.

The singer, who has made India his home for the past few years, had made a representation to the Home Ministry on May 26 this year requesting that he be allowed to stay in India on humanitarian grounds.

Sami had first arrived in India on March 13, 2001 on a visitor's visa with the validity of one year which was issued by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.

His visa was extended from time to time. His Pakistani passport issued on May 27, 2010 expired on May 26, 2015 and his passport was not renewed by the Pakistan government which led him to approach the Indian government with the request to legalise his stay in India.

Sami's two songs from the album, 'Kabhi To Nazar Milao' and 'Lift Kara De', whose music video starred actor Govinda, were a sensation in the early 2000s.

This year the singer tasted success with his song 'Bhar Do Jholi meri' in Salman Khan-starrer 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan'.

Comments

VOX POPULI
 - 
Friday, 1 Jan 2016

VERY DIPLOMATIC STATEMENT. ABHI IS BANDHA SACH BOLEY THO LAAZIM PHAS JAAYEGA. KABHI KABHI SACH BOLNA BHI BADA PAAP HAI. SACH KA GOLI WAQI KADVA HAI. SATHYA HELDREY EEGA KOLU(BETHTHA) KOTTU PETTU PADEYDANTHEY? SURVIVAL IS THE ONLY GOAL FOR YOU NOW IN INDIA BEING AN INDIAN CITIZEN.
GAATHEY RAHO, AUR JEETYEY RAHO YAAR AUR BE GRATEFUL TO THIS GREAT COUNTRY. JAI HO. LONG LIVE INDIA AND INDIANS.

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 26,2020

Washington, Mar 26: American media personality Kylie Jenner has donated 1 million USD to fight against the COVID-19 outbreak.
Dr Thais Aliabadi shared the same in an Instagram post on Wednesday, "One of my patients, a beautiful Living Angel just donated $1,000,000 to help us buy hundreds of thousands of masks, face shields, and other protective gear which we will have delivered directly to our first responders, as too many masks at hospitals are disappearing before making their way onto the faces of our front line heroes."

According to Page Six, a representative for Jenner confirmed that the 22-year-old star has made the contribution, and said, "I can confirm that she did make the donation."
Now, thanks to Jenner's generosity, Aliabadi will be able to disperse the hundreds of thousands of various necessary essentials needed to combat the dissemination of COVID-19.
The doctor issued huge gratitude and thanks to the Kylie Cosmetics founder and said that she has "never felt more blessed to be a doctor."
Dr Aliabadi was on-hand to deliver Jenner's daughter, Stormi, according to TMZ.
Kylie reciprocated the doctor's kind words by replying to Dr Aliabadi's thank-you post, she wrote, "I love you! and thank YOU for all the love and care you put into everything that you do! You're an angel on earth."
Last Week, Jenner pleaded in an Instagram post, "The coronavirus is a real thing, "I listened to the Surgeon General this morning... he definitely encouraged me to come on here and talk to you guys."

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
January 11,2020

Washington, Jan 11: Fresh off his win at the Golden Globes, actor Joaquin Phoenix participated in a climate change protest and was arrested by the police.

The "Joker" star took part in the weekly protests against climate change, started by Hollywood veteran Jane Fonda.

According to Variety, the 45-year-old actor also addressed the crowd of close to 300 people.

In his short speech, he took aim at the meat and dairy industry for being the third leading cause of the climate crisis.

"Sometimes we wonder what can we do in this fight against climate change, and there is something that you can do today and tomorrow, by making a choice about what you consume," Phoenix said.

"There are things I can't avoid. I flew a plane here today, or last night rather, but one thing I can do is change my eating habits," he added.

Besides Phoenix, veteran Hollywood star Martin Sheen also turned up for the protest and got arrested by the police. Actors Maggie Gyllenhaal and Susan Sarandon were also present.

Capitol Police said it arrested 147 people who were charged with crowding, obstructing or incommoding. All the protestors were later released.

Fonda, who was on stage with Phoenix, called him "one of the greatest living actors today".

She has been protesting weekly as part of her "Fire Drill Fridays" initiative since announcing she was moving to Washington "to be closer to the epicenter of the fight for our climate." Her participation has ended in multiple arrests.

Earlier this month, Phoenix had talked about climate change at the Golden Globes ceremony, asking Hollywood to walk the talk on the issue.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 27,2020

Los Angeles, Jan 27: Lil Nas X, Lady Gaga, Beyonce and... Michelle Obama?

Yep.

The former first lady can now add Grammy winner to her resume, after snagging the award on music's biggest night for Best Spoken Word Album, for the audiobook of her memoir Becoming.

Her win on Sunday gives the Obama household its third Grammy: former president Barack Obama has already snagged two Grammys in the same category for his books.

She faced an eccentric group of rivals that included Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys for Beastie Boys Book and John Waters, the director-performer known for his transgressive cult films, for Mr. Know-It-All.

 Released in late 2018, Becoming saw the former first lady slam U.S. president Donald Trump for questioning her husband's citizenship and promoting the notion that he was born abroad.

"The whole [birther] thing was crazy and mean-spirited, of course, its underlying bigotry and xenophobia hardly concealed," Obama wrote.

America's first black first lady also dug into her personal life in her book, expounding on issues including a miscarriage, using in-vitro fertilization to conceive her daughters and marriage counseling.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.