'We Indians need to rise above our prejudices to become one.'
'If not now, then when?'
The credit for getting Kangana Ranaut's sister Rangoli Chandel off Twitter goes to jewellry designer Farah Khan Ali, Bollywood veteran Sanjay Khan's eldest daughter.
When Farah read Rangoli's rant against a particular community that suggested genocide, she could not take it any longer.
"I have nothing personal against her," Farah tells Subhash K Jha. "I reported her tweets because they went against every norm of a decent society."
"Such hate-spewing at a time when civilisation struggles to survive is scary," says Farah. "This is not the India that I know, the India I grew up in."
"Bigotry, radicalism, religious prejudice in any community is toxic," Farah points out. "You may have ideological differences with a particular community, but that does not mean you single out the entirely community for hatred and say they should be shot dead because of the behaviour of a handful of idiotic rabid extremists in that community."
Farah has known the sisters from the past.
"I met Rangoli with Kangana and she came across as a nice person," she says. "I don't know what happened. Now when I reported them, and so did (actress) Kubra Sait and (director) Reema Kagti, who are ladies I admire, Rangoli tweeted nasty things about my family. I had no reaction to that."
"In today's day and age, anyone can say anything," she says. "I don't care what she says about my family. I look for positivity in everyone. I like to see the good side of every person and do my best to bring it out."
"When I see such behaviour, I wonder, 'what happened?'"
Farah feels it it is time for India to rise above petty politics.
"I am worried about my country. The political parties may not agree with one another. They may argue about why the lockdown happened so late or why it happened at all," she says. "But the fact is it happened for the best."
"We Indians need to rise above our prejudices to become one. If not now, then when?"
"This whole ire, why?
"You know, if someone is to be reported for spreading hatred on Twitter, you need to report five tweets to prove your point. The fact that I found those five tweets so easily just shows how much hatred is out there," says Farah.
"I wish I could live in a world where people would only have love for one another. Sadly, the chasm between the haves and the have-nots is increasing in our country."
"I fear hunger may overtake all other considerations."
