A particular community shouldn’t be targeted for every wrong, says John Abraham

John Abraham says at a time when the world is getting polarised, it is important that one community is not blamed for everything that goes wrong in the society.

The 45-year-old actor, who has made a number of films dealing with patriotism, including his next release Satyamev Jayate, was asked about the lynching incidents in the country and how religion has become a controversial topic today.

“The whole world is getting polarised and by polarised I mean that it is going against a particular community right now. It has become our mind-set that if there is something wrong, then that particular community is causing all the harm. I think we should first get that out of our heads because only then you can judge people rightly,” Abraham said in a group interview.

The actor, whose film tackles the issue of corruption, said communalisation creates more problems.

“If you are communalising them, then they become fringe elements and after that they become extremists. You are creating the terror. So I think the world is kind of a dangerous place to live in right now,” he added.

Actor Manoj Bajpayee, who stars with Abraham in the Milan Zaveri-directed film, said he had also undertaken a Kanwar Yatra at the age of 17 and has wonderful memories of that journey.

He, however, said he did not identify with what he was reading about Kawariyas in the news, hinting at the widely circulated video in which a group of Kanwar pilgrims were seen wrecking a car in the middle of the traffic in Delhi.

“When we are not sure about who we are, we try to rely on something to establish our identity. Religion is the easiest way to do that. I also took Kanwar Yatra from Sultangunj to Baidyanath temple at the age of 17... I have wonderful memories of that time. I would like to keep those memories with me and not the ones that I am reading about in the newspapers.

“People like us, who are aware, we have to decide what we identify with and what we don’t. We are not protecting the religion, we are making it a thing of ridicule. We should not let that happen. Religion means trust. How can I let my trust be a thing of ridicule? It is our duty to stop that.”

Satyamev Jayate is releasing on Independence Day.

(This story has not been modified from its original version.)

Follow @htshowbiz for more