Shame on you Shah Rukh Khan. I say Boo to YOU.
We all know that The Emperor of the Milky Way, The King of the Constellations, The Shah Jahaan of Bollywood, ‘Mr. Shah Rukh Khan’ was detained yesterday at US Customs, for a couple of hours.
Sorry. Pardon. It should not have happened. But, as we all know, when we travel, crap happens.
The reason that I AM SO OFFENDED is by the statements made by Mr. Khan to young students at Yale University. It’s pertinent to note that Mr. Khan traveled to Yale on his own volition.
This is what he said at Yale (as per this Times Of India report):
Khan said, “They (immigration officials) always ask me how tall I am and I always lie and say 5 feet 10 inches. Next time, I am going to get more adventurous. (If they ask me) what colour are you, I am going to say white,” he said.
Huh?????? What???? Is this man MAD??
Is this supposed to be a JOKE that the Hottest and most popular Indian Super Star breaks into, in front of hundreds of very impressionable students?
Has Mr. Khan gone bankrupt in his sense of humor??
I ask, what will happen if these students try and emulate the star and say ‘LIES’ to govt. officials? Is Mr. Khan even fathoming the damage he is potentially causing?
At airports and in airlines, lies or any kind of ‘jokes’ are never tolerated. Time and again we read of cases where passengers are arrested for saying ‘silly things’ even between themselves that may sound dangerous.
So, if a young 19 year old ‘Yusuf Khan’ takes inspiration from Mr. Khan, ‘lies’ when asked about his background and says he is Jewish, and is immediately detained by US Immigration, then will the Indian ambassador and the External Affairs Minister immediately run helter-skelter to intervene on young unknown Khan’s behalf?
Honestly, this ‘Hoo Halla’ of one silly man getting detained at an American airport is silly, stupid and unwarranted.
This is why:
– Shah Rukh Khan says, “Whenever I start feeling too arrogant about myself, I always make a trip to America. The immigration guys kicked the star out of stardom.”
Yeah. That’s right. And I ask, so? Are you saying you have never felt like being humble sometimes?
What’s in this to gloat about? People go to temples & monasteries, on pilgrimages; they climb mountains to correct their arrogance. If you – Mr. Khan can find humility in a couple of hours, at a common airport, then you should count yourself to be very lucky!!
– It takes an average time of 10-12 hours minimum to travel to the USA from India. Add another 8-10 hours to the trip if you are headed to the West Coast.
On arrival, Immigration takes anywhere between 45 minutes to 2 hours to clear. So I say, ‘big deal’ if you spent 1 or so hour more in clarifying something that the country YOU have chosen to visit YOURSELF wants to know about you – before you step on to their shores!!
– The USA has valiantly protected itself against all terror attacks on its homeland since the horrific 9/11 incident.
How many countries can claim this feat? Check out India, where we routinely experience terrorist attacks, bombings, train explosions etc.
NEVER can WE THE CITIZENS of India feel 100% safe and sound.
Do you know why? Because we don’t have the ‘fanatic’ protection of our borders like the USA does. We don’t detain people ‘just like that’. We don’t behave outrageously when it comes to protecting our own people. We don’t become ‘unreasonable’ when it comes to securing our borders.
We are in the ‘chalta hai’, or ‘he will feel bad if we ask’ zone.
Only that this attitude results in our men, women and children getting routinely blown up on roads and trains while we helplessly watch.
If the USA can manage to protect its citizens from terror, then, WHAT is the Big Deal if the protection officers of the USA question VISITORS just to enforce that safety???
(Read the toi story again and be surprised in the end to note that the USA did not spare a KENNEDY for security, so who the hell is a KHAN?)
Let me share a true incident with you. A few trips back to the USA, the immigration officer was about to stamp my entry date ‘ON’ my visa. I just squeaked to the officer ‘Sir, can you not stamp the Visa, but the adjoining page?” The man scowled, barked back at me, and said, “It’s MY VISA. AND I CAN DO WHAT I WANT WITH IT.”
That moment I realized the fervor and dedication the Americans have in protecting their country. I SALUTE THEM.
If anything, we should learn HOW TO BE STUPID, SILLY, UNREASONABLE about protecting our borders, as long as we can guarantee that our Country will never be attacked!
– For every Shah Rukh Khan who raises this hue and cry, what about the 100s and 1000s of Khans who also get detained at many airports in the world?
Are they supposed to be inspired by this incident and also start throwing tantrums? Should they demand that the Indian Ambassador living in the other countries of the world run around and make these normal visitors entry ‘hassle free’?
Also, what is detention? It’s being asked some questions. Detention doesn’t mean torture or rape!!
– Let’s respect that every country has its own rules and regulations..
Check out these 2 real incidences that happened to me in Czechoslovakia and South Korea in this blog.
For almost 2 years, when anyone entered India, they were subjected to a silly Mad Cow check up at the airport. No one complained. In 2000-2001, when the SARS illness hit China, the world shut down. Chinese officials with thermometers started checking passengers at airports! My colleague Ranjit Singh who was with Mobile2win China at that time, got QUARANTINED in Beijing and was not allowed to travel for weeks! We all accepted the Chinese method of making themselves and the world safe with bowed heads.
Even today, when an airplane lands in India, the operating airlines are mandated to spray a PESTICIDE inside the cabins, to protect Indian soil from germs and infections!! We all live with these ‘facts of life’.
So, if your ‘arrogance’ or pride does not allow you to be subject to all this, then DON’T TRAVEL to the offending country. That choice is always with you.
I don’t think that any Country should change its security protocol for any one person. That person should adapt and change himself or STAY AT HOME.
Finally, the META LESSON and take out from this story is that the USA protects itself from all kinds of terrorists and dangerous elements with a 100% success rate. That is what we have to EMULATE.
This incident will be forgotten tomorrow morning, AND the USA will CONTINUE to be a 100% SAFE place. Can we expect the same to be true for ourselves in INDIA???
Mr. Shah Rukh Khan:
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