The Big Story: Cutting your nose to spite your face

There are few greater examples of a love-hate relationship than India and Pakistan. The Successor states of the British Raj, India and Pakistan have a lot in common. North India and large parts of Pakistan share language, food and dress. But they also share deep reserves of hate that politicians can dip into at will.

It’s a bit of the latter at play as Mumbai’s Hindi-language film industry has been targeted over hiring Pakistani actors. The Maharashtrian nationalist party, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, has threatened filmmakers with violence, forcing actors Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan to head back to Pakistan. If naked violence wasn’t enough, trade bodies such as the Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association and Indian Motion Picture Producers’ Association have imposed an arbitrary ban on films with Pakistani actors.

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As with all hysterical nationalism, this move ends up hurting India more than the two Pakistani actors it targets. While Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan would understandably be worried about their future cash flows from Mumbai, Indians should be worried about the creation of a business climate where an arbitrary political wind could derail trade and industry at a whim. These Pakistani actors where here on valid visas from the Union government. Yet, so weak is the law and order situation in Mumbai that the state is unable to protect industry from doing its job lawfully.

The arbitrary nature of the hysteria was on Sunday highlighted by filmmaker Anurag Kashyap in a series of angry tweets directed by Prime Minister Modi. Kashyap asked the government for protection for the film business and pointed out the irony that while Prime Minister Modi faced no adverse consequences for his trip to Pakistan to visit the home of Prime Minister Sharif in December 2015, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, the film being shot at the same time that features Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, could now face huge losses.

Till 2016, most Indians were willing to ignore previous Pakistani terror attacks and were happy to listen to Pakistani songs and support peace initiatives with Islamabad. The idea thatt banning a couple of actors will hurt the Pakistani state is bordering on the ridiculous. But it will hurt India’s own filmmakers. And there lies the irony of hysterical nationalism.

The Big Scroll

  1. If actors are expected to stay out of politics, so should the rest of the Hindi film industry, says Nandini Ramnath.

Political Picks

  1. Maratha protesters consider talks after the Maharashtra government’s decision to provide Rs 1,000 crore fee waiver annually to students from economically backward communities across caste and religion.
  2. Brics summit: China impedes India’s attempt to mention Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba in Goa Declaration.
  3. At his Surat rally, Aam Aadmi Party head Arvind Kejriwal taps Patidar discontent with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
  4. Softening its stand, the Union government has announced that it will move on Triple Talaq after establishing consensus among Muslim groups.
  5. The Union government plans to introduce a system where states may have to offer bids and compete to win projects.

Punditry

  1. In Mint, Srinath Raghavan charts the history of the Nobel Prize in economics.
  2. Let farmers rather than non-agri interest groups decide if genetically modified mustard is worth planting, argues Harish Damodaran in the Indian Express.
  3. In Mint, Anil Padmanabhan observes the business of nationalism visible in motorcycle ads and Chinese goods boycotts.
  4. In First Post, K Yatish Rajawat explains how higher education has collapsed in India.

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The three-month shutdown in Kashmir has crippled small traders and businesses, reports Rayan Naqash from the Valley

Reyaz Ahmad, an autorickshaw owner in Srinagar, has been out of work since his vehicle was damaged, allegedly by Central Reserve Police Force personnel. His family of four is now dependent on the charity of neighbours.

“They provide us with some food and oil," said Ahmad. "And though it is not much, it is enough for us to survive on.”

Going back to work now is not an option, he said: “Whoever comes out to work does not care for his life.”

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