Be more inclusive, don’t have such polarised thoughts: Singer Shaan on reactions to Eid selfie 

By PTI

MUMBAI: Singer Shaan has called for “respect and tolerance” after being trolled over a selfie he posted on Instagram to wish everyone on Eid.

The selfie, a screen grab from one of his songs ‘Karam Kar De’, shows the singer in a skullcap offering namaaz.

The singer said he posted the picture to wish everyone Eid but the amount of negative comments the photo received forced him to address the issue.

Shaan, 50, said as someone who grew up in Bandra, Mumbai, where the population is predominantly Catholic and Muslim, he was never made to feel different by his friends.

“If we dress up in a particular way for some festival or occasion, then how does that affect your religion? I want people to change that thought.

We are a progressive country, we are getting ahead, Indians today are respected across the globe.

How will we progress if we don’t have respect and tolerance. We are regressing to old thoughts,” the musician said on Saturday.

Shaan said he had come to Mangalore for an event but when he read comments asking him why he had dressed up as a Muslim despite being a Hindu, he decided to talk to his fans in an Instagram Live.

He also pointed out that the photos from his visit to the Golden Temple did not attract such comments.

“Love each other, respect each other, be with each other. Don’t keep such polarised thoughts because it will only hurt.

Any country that has followed a particular religion, that country has not progressed.

We are a democracy. We are the biggest democracy, biggest population today, more than China.

We should change our thinking, we should be more inclusive and we should look towards creating a beautiful world, not just a beautiful country,” the singer said in a mix of Hindi and English.

<br /> MUMBAI: Singer Shaan has called for “respect and tolerance” after being trolled over a selfie he posted on Instagram to wish everyone on Eid.</p> <p>The selfie, a screen grab from one of his songs ‘Karam Kar De’, shows the singer in a skullcap offering namaaz.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.83 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.83 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>The singer said he posted the picture to wish everyone Eid but the amount of negative comments the photo received forced him to address the issue.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });</p> <p>Shaan, 50, said as someone who grew up in Bandra, Mumbai, where the population is predominantly Catholic and Muslim, he was never made to feel different by his friends.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.83 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.83 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>“If we dress up in a particular way for some festival or occasion, then how does that affect your religion? I want people to change that thought.</p> <p>We are a progressive country, we are getting ahead, Indians today are respected across the globe.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.83 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.83 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>How will we progress if we don’t have respect and tolerance. We are regressing to old thoughts,” the musician said on Saturday.</p> <p>View this post on Instagram</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.83 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.83 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>A post shared by Shaan Mukherji (@singer_shaan)</p> <p>Shaan said he had come to Mangalore for an event but when he read comments asking him why he had dressed up as a Muslim despite being a Hindu, he decided to talk to his fans in an Instagram Live.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.83 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.83 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>He also pointed out that the photos from his visit to the Golden Temple did not attract such comments.</p> <p>“Love each other, respect each other, be with each other. Don’t keep such polarised thoughts because it will only hurt.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.83 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.83 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Any country that has followed a particular religion, that country has not progressed.</p> <p>We are a democracy. We are the biggest democracy, biggest population today, more than China.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.83 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.83 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>We should change our thinking, we should be more inclusive and we should look towards creating a beautiful world, not just a beautiful country,” the singer said in a mix of Hindi and English.<br />