On Tuesday (9th April), former Indian cricketer Zaheer Khan once again came under attack from Islamists after he took to social media to share pictures of himself and his wife-actress Sagarika Ghatge celebrating the Hindu New Year Gudhi Padwa.
As soon as Zaheer Khan shared pictures of the celebrations at his home, Islamists on social media started posting hateful comments about the inter-faith couple. Most of the comments were addressed to Zaheer Khan sermonising him about what is actual Islam and how he is going against the religion.
In an Instagram post, Zaheer Khan and Sagarika Ghatge shared photos of the Hindu New Year celebrations and wrote in the caption, “Happy Gudi Padwa from us to you. Fun interview as always with Renuka Vyavahare this time with a whole lot of puran polis and sheer khurma. Thank you Prathamesh Bandekar for capturing it so beautifully and thank you for the lovely pictures.”
Immediately after this post, Islamists on social media came into the comments section of this post with their hateful abuses. One Abdul Qadir wrote, “Zaheer Khan’s faith in the religion is so weak that he could not convert his Hindu wife.”
Another user named Rahil Khan wrote, “Losing one idiot Muslim does not make any difference to Islam. Islam does not need such a Muslim. Islam was, is, and will be the fastest-growing religion in the world. Celebrities more popular in the world than him are accepting Islam. Alhamdulillah!”
Muzaffar Khan wrote, “Brother, you too are a blind Bhakt of the top order. What do you get by worshipping the stones and participating in these crimes?”
Another Instagram handle named @haseeb5364 wrote, “May Allah give guidance to them. Somebody tell him that Allah does not forgive Shirk (equating any other deity with Allah). You still have time. Regret your Shirk.”
Another Islamist Emraan Mulla wrote, “This Kafir will go to Dojakh (hell) Inshallah.”
Nadeem wrote, “You son of a moron have some shame. People indeed forget everything after they earn money.”
Yousuf Hussain commented, “Brother, you are a Muslim. We don’t do this all in Islam. Don’t you know the meaning of Islam? Don’t do this all. Brother, we are answerable to Allah. Still, there is time brother. Beg pardon to Allah. Allah is a forgiver. Inshallah he forgives you.”
This is not the first time that Zaheer Khan has received hateful comments from Islamists for celebrating Hindu festivals. On 24th October 2022, he shared a similar photograph with his wife Sagarika Ghatge as the couple celebrated Diwali. Islamists on social media had similarly attacked him. Now, as they shared the pictures of Gudhi Padwa, Zaheer Khan and Sagarika Ghatge have received these hateful comments once again.
The First day of the month of Chaitra is celebrated as the Hindu New Year in many states in India. In Maharashtra, it is celebrated as Gudi Padwa while for Telugu and Kannadiga people, it is celebrated as Ugadi. Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra is celebrated with much fanfare and every year, the festival brings glimpses of the rich traditions and proud Maratha heritage.
