Bollywood lyricist Javed Akhtar was on Tuesday served with a show-cause notice by a Thane court for his remarks comparing the RSS with the Taliban during an interview earlier this month. The notice was in response to a complaint filed by an RSS activist who accused Akhtar of defaming RSS by likening it to the Islamist organisation that has taken over Afghanistan.
As per the complainant, Akhtar made defamatory remarks against the RSS as a part of a “well-planned” strategy to slander the organisation and “discourage, disparage and misguide” the people who have joined the RSS.
The Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court in Thane issued a show-cause notice to Akhtar asking him to respond before November 12.
The defamation suit filed by RSS activist Vivek Champanerkar seeks Re 1 as compensation from the screenwriter.
Representing Champanerkar, advocate Aditya Mishra argued at length in the court, contending that Akhtar had made “derogatory” remarks against the RSS while appearing in a show of a private news channel.
“The defendant’s remarks drawing a parallel between barbaric Taliban and organisations working for the Hindu cause were aimed at vilifying such outfits,” he stated. The complainant further added that Akhtar had made the comments “without proof” of even one member having acted “like Taliban”, seeking a permanent injunction from the court to not drag the name of RSS or make such statements.
Akhtar stirred a furore earlier this month when he equated RSS with the Taliban during an interview, stating that “right-wing all over the world have an uncanny similarity.”
Javed Akhtar compares Hindu organisations to the Taliban
On September 3, while talking on a show on NDTV, Akhtar said that the mentality of those who support RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal is the same as that of the Taliban. He said, “The way the Taliban are trying to build a Muslim nation. In the same way, some people present the concept of Hindu Rashtra to us.” He further added, “These people have the same mentality. The Taliban are violent. Are wild. But the people who support RSS, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal have the same mentality.”
While comparing the RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal to the Taliban, Akhtar said that the ideologies that Hindu organisations follow are no different from the Taliban. He said, “They have no love for minorities, like Taliban. They want women to be home, like the Taliban. What is the difference between the two? They say no law is superior to their religious faith, that is what the Taliban say. How are you different from them?” and giggled.
The Taliban
The Taliban is notorious for gross violations of human right and strict interpretation and implementation of the Islamic Sharia. It is a Deobandi Islamist organisation and is believed to be internally funded by illegal means such as extortion, drug trade, kidnapping, and ransom. The Taliban forbids entertainment and art of any form as ‘haram’ and also forbids women from going to school and colleges. The Taliban is also known for brutal oppression of women and under its previous rule, public flogging was very normalised in Afghanistan.
