Mr Khan detained...so what?

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As news of "SRK detained" captured the top headlines all across the Indian print and electronic media, it seemed a bit too amateurish a behavior by the Indian media in particular and the public at large. Do you really feel that an American immigration officer will know who SRK is? That the officer must have watched one of his candyfloss K-Jo movies because they are usually shot in US? This is asking too much from an American immigration officer.

The biggest surprise or rather shock for me was the comparison made by Rajiv Shukla between SRK's detention and ex-President Dr. Kalam's frisking. A bigger shock was that the media concurred and made similar comparisons. Let us first clear the facts.

Ex-President Dr. Kalam's frisking was against the protocol set up for top Indian government officials and hence it was rightly taken up with the US authorities. On the other hand, SRK, though a larger-than-life star, thanks to the Indian media, is just another Indian travelling to the US.

So what angered us more - that a famous Bollywood star was detained by US immigration or that a Muslim was detained by the US authorities or was it a combination of both? If it is the Bollywood tag that should have saved the detention, then we are all living in a fool's paradise. SRK might be the biggest crowd-puller in his US concerts. His movies might have raked huge revenues. But it is not because he is loved by Americans who throng to see him. It is because of a huge South Asian population including Pakistanis and Bangladeshis who attend his concerts and watch his movies. The term "Global Icon" used by a CNN-IBN anchor for SRK while reporting this news seems misplaced. If you go by Indians and South Asians who know SRK, then may be he or any other Bollywood star for that matter is a global icon since we Indians in particular and South Asians in general are in every nook and corner of the world. But if "global icon" means that "foreigners" know you, then we are overreacting.

If it is the fact that he was a Khan that angered us, then we too need to accept some harsh truths of today's Western world. Yes, SRK is a Muslim and unfortunately some extremists from the community chose to change the way the world looks at Muslims post-9/11 and London bombings. My dear Muslim friends in the US understand this very well and infact, have learnt to live with it without cribbing as they realise that they are suffering because of the wrongdoings of some of their brothers. They have been detained too because their names had Mohd., Ahmed, Ali or Khan. Unfortunately, they are not famous enough to have headlines written about them. So are the US authorities wrong in interrogating and detaining a Muslim in particular or a South Asian in general? Not at all. One good thing about the US despite its vices is that it takes the life of every citizen living in the US very seriously. They have proved this in actions by not allowing any terrorist attack in US post-9/11 which speaks volumes of their commitment to the security of their countrymen. In the process, they have ruffled some feathers by adhering to serious checks against people of Asian origin (Muslims and Hindus) but the bigger picture for them has been a success.

On the other hand, in our fear of angering Muslims we have adopted a soft approach or should I say that in the fear of losing Muslim vote bank the Government has adopted a soft approach. Despite the fact that there are now homegrown jehadis, we fear of going for serious checks of their backgrounds and have not even thought of closing the Bangladesh border. We fear that our secularism will be damaged and vote bank be lost if one fine day an Emran Hashmi cites his religion as the cause of not getting a house or if a Mohd. Azharrudin takes the shelter of his minority status when he was rightly targeted after the match-fixing scandals. Honestly, we do not have the commitment to secure the lives of our countrymen. When we cannot give due respect to our soldiers and make profits even during the sale of their coffins, then the lives of the common people is way down in the priority list of the Government. Do we have the guts to detain the likes of Shoib Akhtar and Wasim Akram who are frequent visitors to India? No because we are in awe of them. We treat them emotionally. We give them high status. In the US, the authorities are practical and simply perform their duty. That's the difference.

It is time that we realise that it is our choice to travel to the US and hence adhere to their rules. Several Asians - Hindus and Muslims - have been detained for security reasons and will continue to be detained. Several Americans are chosen for "special screening" too. As long as it prevents another 9/11 we should not crib about it. We can also have serious security checks. Why can't we detain the likes of Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie or George Clooney? Because they are Hollywood icons does not mean they cannot be detained.

To Mr. Khan, if you feel offended then you should not visit the US in future and shoot all your films in India or any other location other than the US. Several of my Muslim friends have proved this in action. Unfortunately, it will be difficult for you because of the earnings you make in the US from your concerts.

And finally to the Indian media, there are several important issues to discuss and make them headlines. Twenty farmer suicides in Andhra in 40 days is a far more serious concern for all of us than this non-issue. And little or no mention of the sacrifices of our soldiers and freedom fighters is a far sadder story on this Independence Day than this "SRK detained" masala news.

Vande Mataram.