Veena Malik and Holi

In the west, South Asians take part in Christmas celebrations while in India many Hindus take part in Eid celebrations

WASHINGTON DC: This is with reference to a report on your website titled “Veena Malik’s Holi moment”, which has riled up a lot of people (it seems) on the Pakistan side of the border.

I would like to ask all those huffing and puffing, what is wrong with what Veena Malik is doing. She is in India and she merely happened to have taken part in Holi celebrations — so what is so wrong with that? In the west, people from South Asia take part in Christmas celebrations while in India many Hindus take part in Eid celebrations.

This is a good thing because it shows respect for other people’s faith and beliefs. Veena Malik is a much better human being than the Sindh MPA who slapped another woman because she (Ms Malik) has not done any harm to anyone. More than being religious, Holi is a festival that celebrates a time of harvest. For that matter, a version of Holi, which is known as ‘basant’ is celebrated in Pakistani Punjab as well.

Rajendra Kalkhande

Published in The Express Tribune, March 10^th, 2012.