'Aukaat mein raho': Javed Akhtar slams troll telling him to celebrate Pakistan's Independence Day, calling him ‘gaddar’

VEteran author and lyrist Javed Akhtar, the likes of the repose of the rural area, marked Independence Day on August 15 with a heartfelt note. However, when a troll insinuated that he was a Pakistani national who should be celebrating Pakistan’s Independence Day instead, and even branded him a traitor, the lyricist didn’t hold back, giving a sharp rebuke.Javed Akhtar hits back at troll questioning his nationalityOn Friday, Javed took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “Happy Independence Day to all my Indian sisters and brothers. Let’s not forget this independence was not given to us on a platter. Today we must remember and salute those who went to jails and those who went to gallows for getting us Azaadi. Let’s see that we never lose this precious gift."Reacting to the post, a troll commented, “Aapka happy independence to 14th August hai (your Independence Day is on August 14)." Javed replied, “Beta, jab tumhare baap dada angrez ke joote chaat rahe thay, mere buzurg desh ki aazadi ke liye Kaala Pani mein mar rahe thay. Apni aukaat mein raho (Son, while your forefathers were licking the boots of the British, my ancestors were dying in Kala Pani for the country’s freedom. Know your place).”Kaala Pani refers to the Cellular Jail in Andaman, where a lot of political prisoners were sent by the British during the colonial rule in India.Javed Akhtar's family ties to the freedom struggleJaved Akhtar's great-grandfather Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi was an Indian independence activist, and participated in the Mutiny of 1857. His uncle, Ansar Harvani, was also a politician and independence activist, who opposed the Partition of India.Javed Akhtar reacts to a troll calling him a traitorFurther, when a troll called him gaddar (traitor), Javed responded, “Gaddaar voh hain jo Non-Cooperation aur Quit India Movement ke khilaf thay. Gaddaar voh hain jinhon ne jitna ho saka angrez ki madad ki. Gaddaar voh hain jo humare samvidhan aur tirange ke khilaf thay. Yeh pata laga kar voh kaun thay, apni jihaalat thodi si kam kar lo (Traitors are those who were against the Non-Cooperation and Quit India movements. Traitors are those who helped the British as much as they could. Traitors are those who were against our Constitution and our tricolour. Find out who they were and reduce your ignorance a little).”Many X users came out in support of Javed. One comment read, “Gave a great reply to the hatemonger, sir 😃😊 They will never understand our sacrifices.” Another wrote, “Javed saab rocked. What a savage reply.” Another comment read, “Javed ji, you don’t need to reply to such comments, just ignore.”Meanwhile, Javed Akhtar will be penning the lyrics for Rajkumar Santoshi’s upcoming film Lahore 1947. AR Rahman will compose the music of the film. The film also stars Sunny Deol, Preity Zinta, Shabana Azmi, Ali Fazal, and Abhimanyu Singh in key roles. Backed by Aamir Khan, the film was supposed to be released on Republic Day this year, but has been delayed due to post-production work.