Kolhapur: Veteran actor Amol Palekar said here on Monday that earlier goons used to harass people, but now the government and politicians support masked mobs that run amok in the country He said, “Work of terrorizing minorities is going on for the last few decades.”

Palekar was speaking at the Samajik Salokha Parishad organised in Kolhapur by Left parties and progressive outfits on the birth anniversary of king and social reformer of the early twentieth century Shahu Maharaj.

Palekar said dictatorship is the result of masked mobs supporting one person. “The web of such a mob of blind followers has surrounded us all. However, we have remained inactive and unawares.”

He further said that people who did not beat ‘thalis’ during the lockdown were named urban naxals and traitors. “It is easy to control a society with homogenous characters,” he added.

A saffronised Hindu India is ‘their’ quintessential goal, he said. “Virtual threats by troll army is a reality today. Social media is a form of symbolic violence that creates structures and prevents collective discourse. Moreover, propaganda movies such as ‘The Kashmir Files’ and ‘The Kerala Story’ are made tax-free in India today.”

He spoke about Olympian women wrestlers who, he said, would not have had to protest for so long demanding action against MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh accused of sexual harassment if Shahu Maharaj had been alive.

He said that Shahu Maharaj had passed orders to punish those who commit crime against women. “He fought orthodox ideology.”

Palekar said that even though the murders of Govind Pansare, MM Kalburgi, Gauri Lankesh and Narendra Dabholkar killed individuals, the attempt was to finish their thoughts.