Keeping the controversy cauldron bubbling, Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut on Tuesday said Subhas Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh got no support from Mahatma Gandhi and went on to mock his mantra of ahimsa by saying that offering another cheek gets you bheek not freedom.
In making the bheek comment, Ranaut wound the clock back to last week when she described India’s Independence as bheek, or alms, and declared that freedom came in 2014, when the Narendra Modi-led government came to power.
In a series of posts on Instagram, Ranaut this time targeted Mahatma Gandhi and said choose your heroes wisely.
The Manikarnika actor, still in the eye of the proverbial storm for her comments, on Tuesday shared an old news clipping headlined ‘Gandhi, others had agreed to hand over Netaji’.
The report claimed that Gandhi, along with Jawaharlal Nehru and Mohammed Ali Jinnah, came to an agreement with a British judge that they would hand Bose over if he were to enter the country.
“Either you are a Gandhi fan or Nataji supporter You can’t be both… Choose and decide,” Ranaut, whose Twitter account has been suspended, captioned the news clipping.
In another post, Ranaut, who has courted many a controversy with her incendiary and provocative statements, then claimed, “Those who fought for the freedom were ‘handed over’ to their masters by those who had no courage burning/ boiling hot blood to fight their oppressors but they were power hungry and cunning.
She then went on to target Gandhi, even claiming that there was evidence suggesting he wanted Bhagat Singh to be hanged.
“Those are the ones who taught us, ‘If someone slaps you offer another cheek for one more slap’ and that is how you will get Aazadi. That’s not how one gets Aazadi, one can only get bheekh like that. Choose your heroes wisely(sic),” the 34-year-old actor said.
The actor said it is about time people know their history and their heroes.
“… Because just placing them all in one box of your memory and every year wishing them all birth anniversaries is not enough infact it’s not just dumb but highly irresponsible and superficial,” she added.
Ranaut’s azaadi statement at an event organised by a news channel last week came two days after she was presented the Padma Shri by President Ram Nath Kovind.
She has been under attack ever since with politicians from across the spectrum, historians, academics, fellow actors and others lashing out at her for views and many saying she should return her award.
On Monday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar trashed Ranaut’s statement, saying that such comments are only made for “publicity”. “How can anyone publish this? We should not even take notice of it. Should we even pay attention to it? One should not give importance to such statements. In fact, it should be made fun of,” Kumar said.
However, she got support from veteran Marathi actor Vikram Gokhale on Sunday.(Press Trust of India)
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This is a bold comment from an already fearless actress highlighting the dilemma most Indians face. I too am in the awe of Gandhiji however there is no harm in revisiting the history and finding out what decisions of his were wrong as with Nehru and Jinha, the last two decidedly involved in anti-India post Independence pursuits. I do not know of a verifiable account of how Netaji passed away. Having visited his house in Kolkatta and seen the story of Galant escape he made from the Britsh as well as the formation of a fighting army one can no but admire his achievements. Indian history writers have not been honest enough to dig deeper and therefore such comments will rightfully raise questions about what games the British played as fledgling nation wounded by WW2 to grant us independence
Contribution made by all , weather they believed in peaceful or voilent actions are equally important. First attempt for independence by fighting in 1857 was failed. Therefore Gandhi ji developed new method by envolving ordinary people in great numbers and also boycotting British goods. This was a new method but became successful. but creidit must be given equally to all.