The Intolerant Response to Aamir Khan’s Intolerance Comments

Breaking his silence on the raging debate over acts of intolerance, actor Aamir Khan on Monday expressed “alarm” and despondency over the rise in such cases “in the last six to eight months”.

In conversation with Anant Goenka, Wholetime Director & Head New Media, The Indian Express, at the eighth edition of the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards, Khan said a sense of “insecurity” and “fear” had seeped deep within society, even in his family.

WATCH: Aamir Khan On Intolerance & Delinking Religion From Terrorism – Complete Coversation At RNG Awards

(Wife) Kiran and I have lived all our lives in India. For the first time, she said, should we move out of India? That’s a disastrous and big statement for Kiran to make to me. She fears for her child. She fears about what the atmosphere around us will be. She feels scared to open the newspapers everyday. That does indicate that there is a sense of growing disquiet,” he said. 

Asked for his view on the trend of writers, artists, historians and scientists returning their awards, Khan said this was one way of getting their point across. “For creative people, to voice what they feel is important. A number of creative people — historians and scientists have increasingly had a certain feeling that they feel they need to express. One of the ways of expressing their dissatisfaction or disappointment is to return awards.” 

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that "transforming Indian economy is a marathon, not a sprint".

By all economic indicators, India is doing better now than when we took office 17 months ago," the PM said after inaugurating the Delhi Economics Conclave. "The GDP growth rate is up, inflation is under control. We have taken a slew reforms to put economy on the growth path. Major steps have been taken to improve efficiency, including clear performance measures and accountability mechanisms," he said.

The conclave's theme this year is 'Realising India's JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhar-Mobile Vision)'. This is the first time ever that a Prime Minister is inaugurating the Conclave since it began in 2010.

"Believe it or not, accounts opened under Jan Dhan Yojana have a total balance of almost Rs 26000 crores," Modi said.

He highlighted his scheme of banking for all but also of social security. "What we have done in the last 17 months is to bring 190 million people into the banking system.We have introduced a Universal Account Number which will remain with an employee even when he changes jobs," the PM said.

Modi also said that India has a lot of entrepreneurial energy. "This needs to be harnessed so that we become a nation of job-creators rather than job seekers," he said.

The day-long conclave will deliberate on topics like international experience in cash transfers, the benefits and risks of biometric authentication-evidence from social programs in India, Financial Inclusion and Direct Benefit Transfer scheme.

The event is being attended by finance minister Arun Jaitley, RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, minister of state for finance Jayant Sinha, chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian and Niti Ayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya, among others.