Dilip Kumar, the thespian, was reputed and respected for his nuanced acting. But how many Indians know that he was instrumental in averting a war with Pakistan with just one phone call to then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif? And how many Indian Muslims know that he helped many deprived and downtrodden OBCs among them get the benefit of reservation in public employment and education.
Acting came naturally to Dilip Kumar and he had influenced many great actors of our times right from Amitabh Bachhan to Shahrukh Khan. But, acting was not Dilip Kumar's only love. He had been an avid reader and had as much command over English and Marathi as over Hindi and Urdu. He also had an enviable library.
Dilip Kumar’s family migrated from Peshawar to Nashik in the years immediately after independence. They stayed for long years at Deolali. So whenever he came across a local from Nashik district, he used to talk to them in the local dialect – the typical Marathi spoken in northern Maharashtra.
He had also memorized several Marathi songs and most of all he liked the traditional form of Marathi theatre – Tamasha - and knew Lavani well. Whenever the mood struck, he could sing Lavani in proper rhythm.
Once while shooting for a film at Aurangabad, he came to know that Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar was staying at the Subhedari Guest House and went over to see him. They had a long interaction and during the course of conversation, Babasaheb urged him to do something for the downtrodden of the Muslim communities. Although Dilip Kumar could not take up the cause immediately due to professional commitments, he had Dr Ambedkar’s suggestion at the back of his mind throughout and that's how he had started working for the issue of Muslim OBCs (Other Backward Classes).
Islam does not recognise the caste system as there is no discrimination there. But Indian Muslim community follows the general caste system prevalent in India. That was the very reason for the Mandal Commission to include several Muslim communities in the list of OBCs. The OBC Muslim movement was started to secure reservations for them.
Initially, certain upper caste Muslims opposed the idea. But, Dilip Kumar stood firm and ensured that the opposition to the Muslim OBCs waned. Various conferences took place at several places in Maharashtra. Dilip Kumar personally visited several cities like Lucknow, Delhi, Hyderabad and lent his weight to the movement. At first, he had the support of the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra Sharad Pawar. Later Vilasrao Deshmukh and his deputy Chhagan Bhujbal, himself a worthy and influential OBC leader supported Dilip Kumar to accomplish this task.
Once I asked him where he had got the inspiration and the courage, he said it was not just Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and narrated a poignant personal incident. Dilip Kumar was part of the football team of the University of Mumbai. After winning an inter-university competition, the team captain, Babu, invited all team members to dinner at his residence. Babu himself cooked chicken. But, only Dilip Kumar turned up at the dinner. The actor then obviously enquired as to why no one else had turned up for the celebration. Babu, the captain of the winning team, told him: "Yusufbhai I am a Dalit. How will they eat something cooked by me?" Tears glimmered in Dilip Kumar’s eyes and his voice turned heavy as he narrated this episode.
There was one more incident. (Kargil.) It was the time when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the prime minister of the country and Nawaz Sharif was his counterpart in Pakistan. The situation between India and Pakistan was tense during that time. One day Dilip Kumar received a call from the prime minister. Prime Minister Vajpayee called Dilip Kumar urgently to Delhi. And so, Dilip Kumar flew to the national capital along with Dr Zahir Kazi, one of his close friend and his doctor as well.
On Vajpayee’s instructions a call was placed to Nawaz Sharif and the then Pakistani prime minister was pleasantly surprised when he heard his favourite actor Dilip Kumar’s voice on the other end. Nawaz Sharif, a huge fan of Dilip Kumar, even knew several dialogues and songs from Dilip Kumar’s films by heart.
Dilip Kumar’s voice had a magical impact on Sharif and this somehow averted a possible war-like situation and helped ease the tension on the borders. Vajpayee used a simple, but clever strategy and Dilip Kumar’s diplomacy saved both the countries from an armed conflict.
In his long life Dilip Kumar had been fortunate to get the constant support of Saira Bano as his wife. Lately, she was almost his mother, taking care of the smallest of his needs. Saira Bano had literally dedicated all her life to her husband. A great actor, but a far greater soulmate.
Today, when Dr Zahir Kazi and I offered our condolences, Sairaji told Dr. Kazi that Dilip Kumar has asked her to donate his complete library to Anjuman-e-Islam. Dr. Kazi said, "Dilip Sahab was not just an Anjuman alumni, but also a famous footballer. We are soon starting an auditorium at Anjuman's Bandra complex."
Dilip Kumar undoubtedly was a great Bollywood actor but the humanitarian and the zealous patriot within him is a far greater person than the actor. The contribution that he made for the downtrodden Muslims was simply incomparable. Equally great was his role in achieving Hindu-Muslim unity.
Central government should have honoured such a great personality by conferring upon him India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna.
(Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council from Lokbharati.)
--------------------
दिलीपकुमार महानायक आणि महामानवही
Tap to read - https://bit.ly/2SQ3pa4
महानायक ही नहीं, महामानव भी थे दिलीप कुमार
Tap to read - https://bit.ly/36glHUX
Important information I got today
ReplyDeleteThe great person
ReplyDelete