What Makes Javed Akhtar a Fearless Rebel
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
25 February
2023
Javed Akhtar is a man whose persona is best
described by the famous lines of Allama Iqbal, ' Zahid-e-Tang Nazar Ne Mujhe
Kaafir Jaana Aur Kaafir Ye Samajhta Hai Ke Musalmaan Hoon Main....' (The
parochial 'wise' man thinks that I'm a Kafir and the Kafir thinks that I'm a
Muslim).
'Keh
Ke Le Li', Javed Akhtar Visits Pakistan, Accuses Country Of Harbouring
Terrorists In Speech © Provided by Indiatimes
-----
But this
much maligned man is unaffected and continues to proclaim the truth without
fear. The way he took Pakistan to task in Pakistan, needs courage of
conviction. A few years ago, I wrote an article in an English daily in which I
analysed that Javed Akhtar's candour sprang from his non-belief in god and
religion, quoting Ibn Warraq (an ex-Muslim), “If one has even an iota of faith
or belief, truth eludes him. To speak the truth you must be free of faith.
"
Here I'm
not suggesting that one has to be an atheist to proclaim the truth. I also
believe that atheism is also a belief; a counter belief to be precise.
Nonetheless, an ism.
In fact, we
all resort to a hackneyed term like atheist for the want of a suitable word. I
remember my apatheist mentor Dr Zaifa Ashraf's words in an Urdu daily, “Mujhe
Ilhadi Kah Kar Alfaaz Ke Shikanje Mein Mat Kasiye. Main Inn Sab Ke Pare Jaa
Chuki Hoon" (Don’t imprison me by calling an atheist. I've gone beyond
all this).
Javed is like that, he has gone beyond belief
and unbelief; theism and atheism. Since ordinary people understand only the
language of binary and dichotomy, they have created words like theists and
atheists. But both have a belief system. So, both have the right to criticise
each other's doctrinal inclinations. Both are sailing in the same boat.
Only those
who go beyond theism and atheism, can see things as they are. Their perceptions
aren't clouded by any belief whatsoever. An atheist is as militant as a theist
is. But who's neither a theist nor an atheist is a free man and he can speak
out fearlessly. He's also free of rancour.
I once
asked my Iranian professor of Persian that why the 10th-century Persian word
Zaraqeen (an apatheist) became obsolete. He told me that human brain was still
not evolved to think that such an indifferent category could also exist apart
from theist and atheist.
So, stop
calling Javed Akhtar or anyone an atheist to mean that the person has no faith
in god, religion and all that jazz. To paraphrase Ludwig Wittgenstein's famous
quote from Tractatus, ' The limits of your language mean the limits of your
world.'
Many people
have lived a religion-neutral and god-insouciant life and they've also lived
with moral rectitude, compassion and fellow-feeling. They've never called
anyone amoral, shameless and as lacking manners and grooming.
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A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul
is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He
has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several
languages including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-personalities/javed-akhtar-fearless-rebel/d/129196
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