After Naseeruddin Shah spoke up for the student protesters who were brutally beaten up during the police crackdown at the Sansad march on July 20, his wife and veteran actor Ratna Pathak Shah too took to social media on Wednesday to express her anger with the ruling establishment and extend her support to the students.
Ratna started the video with an anecdote about Eklavya, a character in the Mahabharatha, who was asked to give his thumb as gurudakshina to Dronacharya, the teacher of the Pandavas and the Kauravas. “Bachpan mein main ek kahaani suni thi jisne mere rongte khade kar diye. Eklavya ki kahaani. Main sun kar bhauchakki reh gayi ki ye kis tarah ke guru hain jisne ek bacche se apne shishya se uska poora bhavishya maang liya angoothe ki soorat mein. Mere bado ne mujhe samjhaya ki ye kahaani guru ke baare mein nahi hain, ye shishya ke baar mein hain. Uski guru bhakti ke baare mein hain, uski kuch seekhne ki nishtha ke baare mein hain, tyaag karne ki himmat ke baare mein hain (In childhood I heard a story that gave me goosebumps. The story of Eklavya. I was shocked to know that a teacher could ask for the future of his own student in the form of a thumb. My elders taught me that the story is not about the teacher but the student and his duty towards his teacher, his zeal to learn something and his willingness to sacrifice.)
Making a comparison with the current state of affairs she said, “Aaj mujhe pata chala hain ki who kis tarah ke guru the aur aaj bhi kis tarah ke guru hain. Hum Vishwaguru hone ki baat kar rahe hain par apne chhatro se sampark bhi nahi saadh sakte. Kamaal hain. Kaise guru hain? (Today I realised what kind of teacher he was and today also what kind of teachers there are. We are talking about being Vishwaguru but we can’t even have a conversation with our students? I am appalled. What kind of teachers are we?)
“Hum chahte hain ki ye bacche apna bhavishya tyaag de jisse kuch log apni satta bacha sake. Ye kis tarah ke guru hain, ye baat sochne ka waqt aa gaya hain (These people want students to sacrifice their future so that some people can save their power. What kind of teachers are they? It is time to ponder)” she added.
Also rendering an apology to the younger generation, Ratna said, “Meri pidi ne hi iss haal ko panapne diya. Humko dikh raha tha aisa hoga, lekin usse hum sahi waqt pe, sahi tareeke se rok nahi paaye. Isliye aapka margdarshan karne ka adhikaar humare paas nahi raha (My generation only let all of this happen. We know all of this would happen but we didn’t stop it at the right time, with the right way. We have lost all right to guide you)
Concluding the video, the actor extended her support to the students. “Fir bhi hum aapke saath khade hona chahte hain. Jaha aap bulaenge hum aa jaenge.” (Still we want to stand with you. Wherever you ask us to come, we will).
Previously Naseeruddin Shah had also shared a video expressing his anger and frustration with the ruling regime. “Agar ek jaahil iss mulk ki rehnumaayi kare to uska dil yahi chahega ki poora mulk ussi ki tarah jaahil, nasamajh, naakabil aur berehem bane (If an uneducated person runs this country, his heart will want that the entire country becomes uneducated, foolish, incompetent, and merciless like him),” he had said.
On Monday (July 20) during the Sansad march in New Delhi, Delhi police resorted to lathicharge on protesting students. Tear gas was also deployed on the protesters. The police claimed that the students expressed unruly and violent behaviour hence they had to resort to this action, however, innumerable videos on social media state that the action was unprecedented and unwarranted.
