As protests continue against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in different parts of the country, many Bollywood celebrities have voiced their opinion on social media. Actor and director Farhan Akhtar today said that he would hit the streets in Mumbai against the controversial law on Thursday.
"Time to protest alone on social media is over," the 45-year-old actor tweeted as he called people to join him for the protest march on Thursday. He also shared a picture explaining the concerns over the new citizenship law point-by-point. The image also has pointers on the National Register of Citizens that sparked fears of detention and deportation in Assam.
"Here's what you need to know about why these protests are important. See you on the 19th at August Kranti Maidan, Mumbai. The time to protest on social media alone is over," Mr Akhtar's tweet read.
Hours later, Mr Akhtar apologised for posting a graphic - along with his earlier tweet - that carried an inaccurate map of India. "Every inch and part of Kashmir is a part of India and I reject the inacccurate map. I regret not noticing this earlier," he wrote.
— Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) December 18, 2019
He is one of the many celebrities who have voiced their concern over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act after it was cleared by the parliament last week.
"This is what we were, what we are and what we MUST remain!" Sonakshi Sinha tweeted with a picture of preamble to the Constitution.
This is what we were, what we are and what we MUST remain! #neverforget pic.twitter.com/itmacCC9qV
— Sonakshi Sinha (@sonakshisinha) December 17, 2019
There have been protests over the past few days in several parts of the country over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which helps non-Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan become Indian citizens if they have entered the country before 2015. Critics say the act discriminates against Muslims.
Sunday's crackdown on students of Jamia Millia University and Aligarh Muslim University was also something that found mention in social media posts of many celebrities. Actors Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao, Parineeti Chopra, Taapsee Pannu, Manoj Bajpayee Konkona Sensharma besides filmmakers Anurag Kashyap, Mahesh Bhatt and Sudhir Mishra were among those who condemned the clampdown.
"This is unreal. We are a secular democracy. This violence that the police have shown in dealing with the students is terrible. Citizens have the right to peacefully protest," Huma Quereshi wrote.
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