Sai Pallavi issues clarification after controversy
Indian actress Sai Pallavi issued a clarification after her statements about the 1990s exodus of Kashmiri Pandits went viral and erupted into a controversy. The actor had expressed her concerns about the violence in the name of religion and had said that while the exodus was wrong, so was cow vigilantism. This led to a furore online among many, who said that she was demeaning the Kashmiri Pandit tragedy.
Sai Pallavi took to Instagram and explained that she would never belittle the tragedy, stating that she was trying to say that violence of all kinds was a sin.
She said, “This is the first time that I am getting in touch with all to clarify something and I think this will be the first time that I will be thinking twice before I speak my heart because I am anxious that my words might be misinterpreted. So forgive me, if I take longer than usual to communicate my thoughts. In a recent interview, I was asked whether I was the supporter of the Left or the Right Wing and I clearly stated that I believe I am neutral and we need to be good human beings first before we identify ourselves with our beliefs. And the oppressed need to be protected at any cost,” the actor said.
Sai Pallavi added that she could never belittle a tragedy, but neither could she come to terms with the violence of mob lynching. “I don’t think any of us has the right to take another person’s life. Being a medical graduate, I believe that all lives are equal and all lives are important. I hope the day does not come when a child is born and he or she is scared of his or her identity. I pray we are not heading towards that,” she said, adding that she felt alone and conflicted during this controversy and wondering what she did wrong. She said that she always speaks in a neutral manner, adding that many prominent personalities had not seen the genuine meaning behind what she meant.
During the media interview that went viral, Pallavi was asked whether she was influenced by the left-wing movement in her personal life. She clarified that she doesn’t take sides. However, she made no bones about her objection to using violence in the name of any religion. She had said, “The Kashmiri Files showed how Kashmiri Pandits were killed at the time. If you are taking the issue as a religious conflict, recently a Muslim driver, who was transporting cows, was beaten up and forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram.’ So where’s the difference between these two incidents? We have to be good human beings. If we are good ones, we won’t hurt others. To answer your question, justice won’t be there either on the side of the right or the left, if you are not a good human being. I’m very neutral.”
Source: The Indian Express
