Divya Kaushik (BOMBAY TIMES; January 11, 2020)

Raftaar is known for voicing his opinion on social issues, and, like many from the entertainment industry, he also recently spoke about his opinion on the current political scenario. Last month, in a viral video clip from one of his concerts, Raftaar introduced his friend and bodyguard Arshad and told the audience, “Ek baat bilkul seriously clear kar raha hoon. Chahe kal career chale chahe na chale, koi dikkat nahi. Itna kama liya hai ki end tak bhookha nahi marunga. Iss insaan ka naam hai Arshad. Yeh mera aisa khyal rakhta hai ki koi mereko dhakka bhi nahi maar sakta. Agar isko koi desh se nikalne ki baat karega na toh samne goli khaunga. Chahe Hindu hai, chahe Sikh hai, chahe Isaai hai, chahe Muslim hai, sab hamare bhai hain. Kisi ko bhi bahar nahi jaane dunga. Aur iske baad jo bhi mere career ka hoga na, wo tum khud dekh lena. Mere ko koi parwah nahi hai…”

In Delhi, Raftaar recently said that he doesn’t regret what he expressed on the stage. “I had no agenda behind what I did. For me it was a platform to say something that I have been wanting to say,” he said, adding, “I don’t care about how people reacted to it.”

In the video, Raftaar ended his message with a cuss word, which drew criticism from many. In a tweet later he apologised saying, “Before everyone starts jumping in and fighting on who agrees or disagrees with me. I want to apologise for abusing on stage. That is something I shouldn’t have done...” He told us, “My only fault was that I used a cuss word and I apologised for it, but I was in rage. That very day, I had read somebody’s Instagram post about a kid who said, ‘Aaj main school gaya aur chaar doston ne mujhe ye bola ki tere gharwalon ko toh bhejne waale hain, tu nikal.’ That post broke my heart. At that moment, I didn’t know how to respond to it. I just spoke my mind on stage.”

Clarifying that he never affiliates himself with any political party, he added, “I am not on this side or that side, left wing or right wing. Apna woh chakkar hi nahi hai. Main toh insaniyat mein believe karta hoon. I just can’t tolerate discrimination at any level. Since the beginning of my career, I have been very vocal about discrimination. I have always believed that every person is equal. Following your faith doesn’t mean that you have to prove that somebody else’s faith is any lesser than yours.” Raftaar added that he is worried about the kind of example the current events are setting for children. “My problem is the mentality that comes when all these things happen, and I am not pointing at any one particular incident. This mindset corrupts the future of the nation. I don’t care about political parties, all I care about is that there should be a change,” he said.

Raftaar said that he might write a song about the current political scenario if he feels the time is right. “It is good that there are young people writing about it, coming up with protest poetry, but I just want to say that educate yourself and then be vocal about it,” he concluded.