'Least concerned' elitists talking of intolerance, says Anupam Kher

Bollywood actor Anupam Kher on Saturday maintained his stand on the intolerance debate, saying it is the 'least concerned' elitists and intellectuals of the society who are talking about intolerance, while the common people are not bothered about the issue.

"The intellectuals and the elitists who are talking about intolerance are least concerned about it. Those who should feel it, do not feel. I meet with people, they are not bothered about it. I have not heard this word for all these years and now I am hearing this for the last 15-20 days or two months," Kher told the media here.

"Debate is a very positive sign. There is progress with debate. Debate is a good sign in a country which is democratic. It's very important that people listen to each other. The largest democracy in the world is our country and our country has a great heart and we should be proud of it. I am proud of my country," he added.

Kher rejected the notion that there was divide in the country due to the growing intolerance.

"There is no divide due to intolerance. This is individual view. People do not get divided with any issue. Our constitution has given us the right to disagree and in spite of that we can work together for the progress of the nation," he added.

Kher further said, "We are an example of tolerance. We have achieved independence after being tolerant for 200 years. We did not become extremists or terrorists. Tolerance is in our DNA."

"Modi ji is doing a great job. May be few people cannot tolerate a tea-seller becoming the Prime Minister. I have never seen any Prime Minister talk of the nation so much in abroad. I am a proud Indian and proud of my Prime Minister. Had he been the Prime Minister of any other party, I would have said the same thing," he added.

Earlier, Kher had lashed out at Bollywood actor Aamir Khan for saying that he and his wife had considered moving out of the country over the alarming rise of intolerance, saying that the actor should 'spread hope instead of fear'.

Speaking at the eighth edition of the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards, Khan had earlier expressed "alarm" and despondency over the rise in such cases "in the last six to eight months".

He had said that a sense a sense of "insecurity" and "fear" had seeped deep within society.