Islamabad: Salman Khan’s remarks targeting Pakistan have drawn criticism from political observers and social commentators, who see them as part of a larger trend in India where Muslim public figures are pressured to showcase their patriotism by echoing anti-Pakistan sentiments.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Khan’s statements — widely viewed as timed publicity ahead of his upcoming film — mirror a pattern in which celebrities and sports personalities align their public positions with the Hindutva-driven narrative of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Analysts say such remarks serve dual purposes: securing approval from the establishment and preempting online criticism from majoritarian circles.
Observers note that Indian Muslims in public life often face an unspoken demand to repeatedly prove their loyalty to the Indian state. “This isn’t spontaneous patriotism — it’s manufactured loyalty under pressure,” a Delhi-based journalist commented, adding that “each instance reflects the burden of belonging to a minority forced to appease the majority.”
The practice, they point out, is not new. From cricketer Irfan Pathan to lyricist Javed Akhtar, and now Salman Khan, Muslims who speak in public are expected to echo the establishment’s stance or risk being labeled disloyal. The phenomenon, critics argue, fulfills what Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had foreseen — that Muslims remaining in India would constantly be compelled to prove their patriotism.
Analysts also rejected Khan’s remarks on Balochistan, saying the province is an integral part of Pakistan, and that Bollywood figures have no moral right to distort facts for applause. “Artists must rise above propaganda, not become its instruments,” a commentator noted, calling Khan’s remarks “a bid for cheap publicity under political influence.”
They stressed that while popularity gained through appeasement may be short-lived, dignity earned through truth and integrity endures. “Pakistan will continue to respond with facts and pride whenever its sovereignty or unity is misrepresented,” they affirmed.