Trouble mounts for Javed Akhtar as Mumbai Police register FIR against him over his RSS-Taliban remark

Read full story: FIR against lyricist Javed Akhtar over RSS remark An FIR has been lodged against writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar on Monday at Mulund police station over his remarks against Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Akhtar courted a controversy earlier this month when he drew parallels between the Taliban and Hindu organisations during his interview to a news channel. According to reports, the FIR has been registered under Indian Penal Code Section 500 (punishment for defamation) on a complaint filed by a Mumbai-based lawyer. During his interview Javed had said, 'The right-wing across the world want the same things. Just like the Taliban want an Islamic State, there are those who want a Hindu Rashtra.' The lawyer had sent a legal notice to Akhtar last month for allegedly making 'false and defamatory remarks against the RSS', and sought an apology from him over it. Apart from this FIR, earlier in September, a court in Thane city had issued a show cause notice to Javed Akhtar in connection with a defamation suit filed against him by an RSS activist for comparing the organisation to Taliban. The court has directed Javed to appear before it on November 12. The complainant alleged that Javed Akhtar meant to vilify Hindu organisations by drawing parallels between them and the Taliban. He further claimed that the accusations made by Javed Akhtar are 'unfounded, false and baseless'. Since Javed Akhtar made the statement, besides the activist, an RSS worker has also filed a criminal defamation complaint against him and an advocate has sent a legal notice to the lyricist seeking damages of Rs 100 crore in connection with the remarks. However, days after stoking a controversy Javed wrote an opinion piece in a Marathi daily and wrote, 'In my recent interview, I had said Hindus are the most decent and tolerant majority in the world. I have also emphasised that India can never become like Afghanistan because Indians by nature are not extremists. It is in their DNA to be moderate, to be in the middle of the road.'