Pakistani Muslims are the reason Muslims in India struggle to find housing: Javed Akhtar’s blunt rebuttal

Actress accuses Hindus of denying homes to Muslims
Lyricist Javed Akhtar silences Pakistani actress Bushra Ansari with a hard-hitting rebuttal

Mumbai – Pakistani actress Bushra Ansari sparked controversy by claiming that Muslims like Javed Akhtar are denied homes by Hindus in India, and therefore, during times of Indo-Pak tension, Akhtar should remain silent like Naseeruddin Shah. In response, lyricist Javed Akhtar delivered a sharp rebuttal, asking, “Who is Bushra Ansari to tell me when to speak or stay silent ? Who gave her that right?” He further asserted that it is not Hindus, but Pakistan and its people, who are truly responsible for Muslims in India facing housing discrimination. “Those whom she accuses of denying homes have been wounded by Pakistan itself. Before pointing fingers at anyone, she should introspect,” he said.

He elaborated :

1. “Twenty-five years ago, my wife Shabana Azmi was denied housing in Mumbai. A broker told her the landlord refused to rent to Muslims. But look deeper at the real reason. That landlord’s parents were from Sindh in Pakistan. They were forced to flee overnight. They were expelled. Their land, property, social status, and livelihoods were all snatched away. Eventually, they came to India as refugees. That pain never left them. He could never forget that trauma. That is why he refused.”

2. “After Partition, many Sindhi Hindus who fled Pakistan had to rebuild their lives from scratch. These are the same poor Sindhis once selling clothes and roasted chickpeas on the streets. They toiled to create a place for themselves. But what did they endure? That bitterness still lives within them.”

3. “Pakistani citizens threw Sindhi Hindus out of their homeland overnight. They had to live in India as refugees. Life as a refugee was one of suffering. They had to live in camps alongside lakhs of others. Even for food, they had to stand in long queues.”

4. “People with such deep wounds will naturally react the way that landlord in Mumbai did. The ones who inflicted those wounds weren’t some nameless third party. They were Pakistanis. If Shabana Azmi faces housing discrimination in India, the true cause lies in the trauma inflicted by Pakistan and its people.”