Lift Kara Do !

Photo: Manuwant Choudhary

By Manuwant Choudhary

When BJP leaders wish every Indian Muslim be sent to Pakistan, I am rather surprised why this government gave Indian citizenship to a Pakistani Muslim - Adnan Sami, the singer.

Rather quite easily.

On May 26 2015 when his Pakistani passport expired and Pakistan did not renew it he applied to the Indian Home Ministry and by December his application was processed and he became an indian citizen effectively from January 1 2016.

Long before the Indian government came up with the Citizenship Ammendment Bill to grant citizenship to all religions except Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

So now even a direct descendant of Frontier Gandhi Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan may not get Indian citizenship !

Stranger is the fact that Adnan's father Arshad Sami Khan was a Pakistani war hero - a fighter pilot who bombed Indian locations in the 1965 war and was later the Aide-de-camp for 3 Pakistani Presidents.

And while Indian Muslim women are on the streets protesting for two months in the winter chill, Adnan has been given a national award - the Padma Shri !

Lift Kara Diya.



But a deserving star also born in Pakistan Dilip Kumar has as yet not been awarded the Bharat Ratna (although he has got the highest Pakistani citizen award - Nishan-e-Imtiaz) .

But at partition Dilip Kumar chose to stay in India and the only reason why the Indian government has still not recognised his contribution is because he champions India's Secularism !

Not just him there are countless Indians whose work remains unrecognised by their own government.

But for the ordinary Indian an award at a glittering Rahstrapati Bhawan is not even on their minds.

Now we have to prove we are Indians.

But I really wonder if it is our politicians who should be proving their citizenship.

Forget awards, for us Indians our lives would be bettered simply by a lift.

The other day I had do go to a government office on the fifth floor. I noticed a nice new lift and the lights were blinking.

Delighted I called for the lift.

But no it wasn't working. The sign blinked "Lift Out Of Service". 

I asked the guard what was wrong, "Sir, the company installed the lift but the government did not pay them so the company has stopped its operation !"

Mujhe Bhee Lift Kara Do.