Shabana Azmi clarifies stance on Not in My Name protests: 'I'm against all fundamentalism'

Mumbai: Veteran actress Shabana Azmi, who has often raised her voice against various issues, on Monday, 3 July, clarified her stance in backing the ‘Not in My Name’ protests, stating that she will continue standing up against all fundamentalism. [caption id=“attachment_2574996” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Shabana Azmi. Reuters[/caption] Shabana talked about it when a fan on Twitter said that she has “so many times spoken against Triple Talaq, talked about Kashmiri Pandit exodus here only”. Shabana replied: “Doesn’t suit them. I’m vs all fundamentalism. In NIMN (Not in My Name) campaign, I said it’s about all mob lynching including the DSP in Kashmir, the love Jehad.” The ‘Not in My Name’ protests question the “pattern of attacks on the minorities in the country and the silence of the government” on the killings. On 29 June, actors Dia Mirza, Arjun Kapoor and Aditi Rao Hydari and director Hansal Mehta denounced the killing of innocent people in the name of religion and cow protection. An event was organised under the banner of “#NotInMyName” close on the heels of the lynching and murder of 16-year-old Junaid in a train following an argument that turned communal. At the protest, there were songs and speeches calling for communal harmony. The most significant of the lynchings was that of Mohammad Akhlaq in 2015, father of an Indian Air Force personnel, who was killed by a mob on suspicion that beef was kept in his house in Dadri, on the outskirts of the national capital