After 46 Muslim partisans issued a ‘fatwa’ against 16-year old singer Nahid Afrin, the entire B-town including controversial writers Taslima Nasrin and Shobha Dey, Bollywood comedian Paresh Rawal and Bollywood music composer Vishal Dadlani came to her rescue. The controversy spread like a forest fire when Afrin, who’s a runner-up at Indian Idol junior 2015 was opposed by the clerics who termed her ‘non-Islamic’ according to Sheriah laws.
The local Muslim organisations in Navgaon and Hojai villages circulated flyers against Nahid, appealing the Muslim population of Assam to boycott Nahid’s upcoming musical performance at Udali Sonai Bibi College on March 25. News agencies claim that this move came after Nahid sang songs against ISIS and other terrorist organisations.
Brushing off the media reports, the clerics claimed that “Musical nights and public performances are against Islamic Sheriah laws. Should a Muslim support such events near Madarsas, graveyards and mosques, their upcoming generations will suffer the wrath of the might Allah”.
The B-town artists and other popular faces of Indian television condemned this mentality by tweeting against the so-called Muslim organisations. Meanwhile, Nasrin hit back at the extremists by saying that music is a gift of God and incidents like these inspire her to perform ahead in life.
While Nasrin praised young Nahid for her Bravado, Shobha De asked her to ignore the nasty threats. Ravi Shankar Prasad, the union minister of law said he was proud of her achievements. Veteran comedian took a dig at the Indian public who sport a blind eye towards such happenings.
Nahid’s mentor and judge at Indian Idol junior Vishal Dadlani urged the government of Assam to protect her freedom. According to Dadlani, “anyone who tries to stop a musician from making music is not spiritual”. Hopefully, the support of all known faces will encourage the young talent to move ahead in life. But, it’s really ironical that in a secure country like India, budding artists like Zaira Waseem and Nahid Afrin have to undergo acid tests to sustain their talents. When will the country realize that art and talent have nothing to do with religion?
