Sedition case filed against Aamir Khan

A day after his comments sparked a furore in India, a case of sedition has been registered against Bollywood megastar Aamir Khan.

According to The Hindu, a complaint was registered at a court in Kanpur on Wednesday by advocate Manoj Kumar Dixit, who argued that the actor’s remarks on intolerance in India had created a sense of fear within the society and promoted the idea that India was an ‘insecure’ nation.

Filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 124-A (sedition) and 53-A (promoting enmity between different groups on religious grounds), the court has set a hearing for December 1.

Dixit is the same petitioner who had previously filed a case against Aamir over posters of his hit film PK, claiming that it contained nudity.

The Bollywood actor and director had said at an awards show on Monday that intolerance had increased in the country and that he had noted a number of cases with alarm, with his scared wife suggesting that they leave India.

The comments had sparked widespread criticism for the 50-year-old actor including from industry peers and politicians, especially from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Published in The Express Tribune, November 26^th,  2015.