09-05-2006, 11:12 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Post-9/11, fear has gripped all artistes
Priyanka Dasgupta
[ 1 Sep, 2006 0057hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
KOLKATA: A debate has started whether the decision of Aasish Khan, son of sarod maestro Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, to declare himself a Hindu and assume the surname Debsharma reflected the paranoia of a section of Muslims around the world.
In a post-9/11 increasingly paranoid world, where terror has become synonymous with Muslims, a number of celebrities feel South Asians are looked at with suspicion.
Lyricist Javed Akhtar said the paranoia "is unreasonable, unfair and illogical. Anybody with brown skin and a Muslim name feels insecure these days. People are suffering from racial and communal biases and sadly enough, we canât do much about it."
Reacting to another incident that made headlines, he said that while he was sympathetic towards the Dutch government which had detained 12 Indian Muslims, "people are overreacting in the West. In all these seven years of presidentship, all that George Bush has managed to do is to make this an insecure world".
The insecurity has apparently forced a number of Indian classical Muslim musicians to dress in formal suits instead of their usual kurta pyjamas while travelling abroad.
What's worse is that the fear has gripped all musicians irrespective of religious identity. Singer Manomay Bhattacharya, who plans to go to the US on September 20 for a four-city tour, is worried about how airport
officials will react to his beard.
Bhattacharya said: "People often call me Khan bhai for my pathan looks. There is fear lurking in every corner and I canât even shave off my beard because thatâs the way my passport picture looks!"
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/artic...945431.cms<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
But when Kamala Das becomes "Suraiya" it's genuine conversion based on free will and a progressive decision.
Priyanka Dasgupta
[ 1 Sep, 2006 0057hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
KOLKATA: A debate has started whether the decision of Aasish Khan, son of sarod maestro Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, to declare himself a Hindu and assume the surname Debsharma reflected the paranoia of a section of Muslims around the world.
In a post-9/11 increasingly paranoid world, where terror has become synonymous with Muslims, a number of celebrities feel South Asians are looked at with suspicion.
Lyricist Javed Akhtar said the paranoia "is unreasonable, unfair and illogical. Anybody with brown skin and a Muslim name feels insecure these days. People are suffering from racial and communal biases and sadly enough, we canât do much about it."
Reacting to another incident that made headlines, he said that while he was sympathetic towards the Dutch government which had detained 12 Indian Muslims, "people are overreacting in the West. In all these seven years of presidentship, all that George Bush has managed to do is to make this an insecure world".
The insecurity has apparently forced a number of Indian classical Muslim musicians to dress in formal suits instead of their usual kurta pyjamas while travelling abroad.
What's worse is that the fear has gripped all musicians irrespective of religious identity. Singer Manomay Bhattacharya, who plans to go to the US on September 20 for a four-city tour, is worried about how airport
officials will react to his beard.
Bhattacharya said: "People often call me Khan bhai for my pathan looks. There is fear lurking in every corner and I canât even shave off my beard because thatâs the way my passport picture looks!"
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/artic...945431.cms<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
But when Kamala Das becomes "Suraiya" it's genuine conversion based on free will and a progressive decision.