After showing support for the CJP-led student protest on social media, Bollywood actor Imran Khan took to the streets of Mumbai to participate in a protest march in solidarity with the students protesting in Delhi. During the march, Imran was asked about actors who refuse to support such movements and claim that art should remain apolitical.
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During the protest, Imran was asked by an aspiring actor if he had anything to say to actors who believe that art is not political. Responding to the question, Imran said, “True art is going to have an individual artist point of you embedded within it, and as part of our human nature, we are going to have opinion and perspective that we hold through to ourselves . If you can’t stand by your opinions and if you do not pour your own heart into your art, your art has no value.”
A day earlier, Imran had expressed his support for the student protest on social media. He voiced his discontent over the alleged use of lathi-charge against students, saying that the very system meant to protect and support them had already failed them. He wrote, “Something broke in me today. Watching as police gassed and battered student protestors… how could I make sense of this? These students who worked hard, only to be failed by the system. These people who asked to be heard, only to be met with silence. These citizens who stood up to show what matters to them… beaten down and disowned by the establishment.”
The actor added, “Are these not the children of Mother India? If not them, for whom do we build, and whose future do we claim to protect? Those who demand ‘organisation’ from students protesting education reform, but don’t apply such lofty standards of accountability to established authority; bootlickers, one and all.”
The CJP-led student protest demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged NEET paper leak and other examination irregularities has been ongoing for nearly a month. Activist Sonam Wangchuk has also joined the movement and has been on a hunger strike for the past 26 days.
On Monday, students marched from their protest site at Jantar Mantar towards Parliament as part of the ‘Chalo Sansad’ march. During the protest, they faced a lathi-charge, while Delhi Police also used tear gas and other forceful measures to disperse the crowd.
Following the incident, several celebrities, including Bollywood A-listers Salman Khan and Alia Bhatt, have publicly condemned the alleged use of force against the student protesters and extended their support to the movement.
