Political analyst Gunja Kapoor was heckled by women at Shaheen Bagh on Wednesday for allegedly ‘taking videos’. She was allegedly wearing a ‘burqa’ and the objection was raised over her trying to cover the protests while wearing one. The reaction from the liberal crowd was along expected lines as they tried to justify the attack on Kapoor due to her political inclinations. Bollywood actress Swara Bhasker went a step further in defending the Islamists at Shaheen Bagh.
Swara Bhaskar said on Thursday that Gunja Kapoor should be grateful that she was not lynched by the protesters at Shaheen Bagh. Amidst a slew of abuses, Bhasker said that she should be thankful for their “patience and empathy” which was not visible in the videos that have surfaced regarding the events that transpired. In the space of 280 characters, Bhasker called Kapoor ‘sick, toxic, shameless’ and her plan ‘devious, deceitful, evil and incredibly tacky’.
Shame on you Gunja! You are safe because the women you went to malign in a devious, deceitful, evil and may I say incredibly tacky plan – they shielded you. Thank them for their patience and empathy- you sick toxic shameless woman… #ShaheenBaghProtest #GunjaKapoor https://t.co/0V2R7PBa4n
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) February 6, 2020
It’s unclear where Swara Bhasker is getting information about Gunja Kapoor’s ‘plan’. From what has surfaced since then, it is clear that Kapoor was only there to record the protests without revealing her identity.
Earlier in the week, Kapoor was a panellist on a CNN News 18 show with Bhupendra Chaubey when the crowd at Shaheen Bagh went unruly and heckled him and forced them to cut short their show. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to assume that her previous experience with the protesters might have affected her decision.
Furthermore, Indian laws do not prohibit individuals from wearing the Burkha. Neither it is illegal to record videos of public protests. It appears that Swara Bhasker believes that Hindus should be grateful to the protesters at Shaheen Bagh for allowing them to get out of there alive.
There have been several incidents of journalists being attacked at Shaheen Bagh. Deepak Chaurasia and Bhupendra Chaube can attest to that. Therefore, taking certain precautionary measures isn’t out of order by any measure. Swara Bhasker appears to believe that Shaheen Bagh is a ‘no-go zone’ for Hindus and Hindus should enter the area only after taking due permission from the Muslim residents of the area.
It is also pertinent to remember here that Shaheen Bagh was masterminded by Sharjeel Imam, a Radical Muslim who eulogizes Muhammad Ali Jinnah and had urged Muslims to cut off North East India from the rest of the country by blocking the Chicken’s Neck. Swara Bhasker had herself shared the stage with Sharjeel Imam at Shaheen Bagh during her trip to Shaheen Bagh.
Shaheen Bagh, which is now being hailed by Swara Bhaskar, is the same place where slogans of ‘Jinnah Wali Azadi’ were raised by the protesters. However, all of this hasn’t stopped the Bollywood entertainer from going out of her way and whitewash the zealotry of the protesters. The same zealotry has also claimed the life of an innocent baby who was exposed to the harsh weather of Delhi at Shaheen Bagh by her mother.
