‘Woke Indian celebrities’: Abhay Deol to celebs against racism in US
Actor Abhay Deol called out "woke" Indian celebrities who have expressed their stand against racism in America over the killing
Mumbai: Actor Abhay Deol called out "woke" Indian celebrities who have expressed their stand against racism in America over the killing of George Floyd, while remaining silent about the "systemic problems" in their own country.
There have been widespread protests in the US over the death of Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who was pinned to the ground in Minneapolis last week by a white police officer who kneeled on his neck as he gasped for breath.
The "Dev D" actor uploaded a picture on Instagram with hashtags "migrant lives matter, minority lives matter and poor lives matter", the issues which have come to the fore in the wake of the coronavirus-led lockdown, preceded by the riots in northeast Delhi in February.
"Maybe it's time for these now? Now that 'woke' Indian celebrities and the middle class stand in solidarity with fighting systemic racism in America, perhaps they'd see how it manifests in their own backyard?
The actor said it's not that Americans "deserve it" but urged people, including celebrities, to look at the larger picture.
"I'm saying look at the picture in its totality. I'm saying support them by calling out the systemic problems in your own country, because they turn out to be one and the same thing.
"There is not a country that's real. But a planet in peril. #migrantlivesmatter #minoritylivesmatter #poorlivesmatter Black Lives Matter (find out why not to use the hashtag and still support the movement)," he added.