Javed Akhtar’s 'hardly literate' tweet was in bad taste: Subodh Sarkar

KOLKATA: Poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar’s controversial tweet over 20-year-old Gurmehar Kaur’s remarks, criticising cricketer Virender Sehwag and wrestlers Yogeshwar Dutt and Mahavir Phogat, has kicked up a storm in Kolkata’s cultural world.

While many have supported Akhtar’s decision to stand by Kaur, his tweet slamming them as “hardly literate” player and wrestler has not gone down well with some.

Prominent among them is poet Subodh Sarkar. In response, Sahitya Akademi winner

Subodh Sarkar

said, “I fully support Gurmehar and her views about war and peace. She is well within her rights to voice her opinion about how her father became a martyr. She shouldn’t have been trolled.”

Akhtar had tweeted saying: “If a hardly literate player or a wrestler troll a pacifist daughter of a martyr its understandable but whats wrong with some educated folks.”

However, Sarkar didn’t support the language Akhtar had used to defend Kaur. “Javed’s ‘hardly literate’ tweet was in bad taste. You can’t take a dig at someone for being hardly literate. A celebrated song writer like him ought to have been more careful with his language,” Sarkar said.