Kamal Hasan facing life threats from right-wing Hindus

ISLAMABAD: A renowned Indian actor Kamal Hasan from Chennai, who expressed his anxiety over the presence of “Hindu Terror” in India, is facing serious threats to his life from the right-wing Hindu outfits. 

According to Indian media, while referring to the threats, Kamal maintained that ‘since no space is available in jail, they want to kill us.’ He was referring to the Muslim community. Akhil Bhartya Hindu Mahasabha, after Kamal Hasan remarks about Hindu Terror, said that the actor and likes of him “should be shot dead.”

The veteran actor alleged that right-wing groups have moved from engaging in debates on employing “terrorism to propagate their communal agenda.” Another leader of the outfit called for boycott of films starring Kamal Hasan.

The threats came after the actor, in his column appeared in Tamil magazine, said that the right-wingers could no longer say, “Show me a Hindu terrorist if you can; terrorism has spread into their fold too.” This came to as a response to a question asked by Indian state Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who had asked for the actor’s opinion on the attempt by “Hindutva forces to infiltrate into Tamil Nadu.”

A caricature drawn by a Hindu artist, Satish Acharya, also appeared in a wire report where Kamal Hasan was surrounded by Hindu terrorists who were carrying weapons. Actor Kamal Haasan hit back at detractors baying forhis blood saying those who cannot stand criticism now want to kill him.

"If we question them, they call us anti-nationals and want us jailed. Now since there is no space in jails, they want to shoot us and kill us,” he said addressing a group of farmers. He was reacting to a statement made by Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha Vice President Ashok Sharma, who, on Friday, slammed Haasan for his “Hindu extremist” remarks and said people like him should be “shot dead”.

In another unrelated development, Cartoonist Bala G, 36, was arrested in Chennai for a “demeaning” caricature that blamed top government functionaries, including Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami of not acting against loan sharks. He has been charged with publishing defamatory and obscene material under the penal code and information technology act, crimes punishable with five years in jail.