Oscar-winning sound engineer Resul Pookutty has praised Chandrashekhar Azad for emerging out of Delhi’s Jama Masjid with a copy of the Indian constitution. Pookutty, who won the Oscar award for Slumdog Millionaire, wrote on his social media page, “A Dalit Hindu leader emerging out of the largest mosque in India holding not a Holy Quran nor a Holy Bhagawadgita but an Indian Constitution is the most promising image of a changing India… I love my country and it’s diversity, Jai Hind!”
Azad had visited Jama Masjid last Friday despite a warning by the Delhi Police against visiting the Muslim congregation in support of those protesting against the amended Citizenship Act. Azad was detained by the Delhi Police but he managed to escape from the police’s captivity. He was later arrested and sent to Tihar Jail.
Bhim Army chief Azad throwing his weight behind the anti-CAA protests assumed significance since it came immediately after Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought to communalise the movement by stating that the protesters could be identified by their clothes.
Pookutty has been one of the few Indian film celebrities, who’ve been vocal against the amended Citizenship Act, which provides automatic citizenship to every single non-Muslim living in India illegally. Experts believe that this will be used to drive millions of Muslims stateless in their own country by the Modi government when the National Register for Citizens, also known as NRC, is rolled out. Since non-Muslims wouldn’t be required to produce any documents to prove their identities since they can always take shelter behind the CAA, Muslims will have a torrid time in proving their nationality since Home Minister Amit Shah has said that Aadhaar card, passport and Pan Card wouldn’t be adequate to prove one’s nationality.