Actor Anupam Kher led a ‘March for India’ in the national capital on Saturday protesting against public figures who have protested against the ‘growing intolerance’ in the country.
Around 50 other prominent members of the film community like Paresh Rawal, Madhur Bhandarkar and other artists, painters and writers participated in the march which started from National Museum and went up to Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Kher was heard saying, “To all those people who say ‘India is intolerant’, we want to very tolerantly tell them that India is a tolerant country.”
Protesters were to meet the President to inform about the “millions of Indians who think that the country is tolerant.”
Kher has denied that the march was in support of any political party. Incidentally, his wife and actor Kiron Kher is a BJP MP.
Senior actor Paresh Rawal tweeted, “This #MarchForIndia is an eye-opener for those who showed their intolerance & return their awards.. msg is clear- #IndiaIsTolerant.”
The move comes some time after 15 filmmakers, along with the likes of Anand Pathwardhan and Dibakar Banerjee returned their National Awards on November 29 as a mark of protest against the central government led by PM Modi for allegedly promoting an environment of intolerance.
Events since the murder of Kannada writer MM Kalburgi on August 30, such as the lynching of Mohammed Akhlaque in Dadri, have led many public figures such as writers, actors, filmmakers, academics to return their awards or protest in some manner or another against the central government’s apathy to such incidents.