Does cinematic celebrity protect a person against arbitrary governmental stomping, or bulldozing, of one’s human rights to property?
Maybe it does if you live in Beverly Hills. But the answer’s a big No if you dwell in a Mumbai slum targeted by a government touting a sanctimonious “cleanup” agenda. Why? Because callously uprooting lives is part of the allegedly “acceptable” cost of that “cleanup.”
Mumbai officials have destroyed yet another shanty home of a child who starred in the popular and multiple-Oscar-winning movie “Slumdog Millionaire.” The victims are the family of Rubina Ali, who played Latika in the film. Rubina says, “I’m feeling bad. I’m thinking about where to sleep.”
Her family had not even been given any notice when cops swooped in to supervise the demolition. The week before, the home of Azhar Mohammed Ismail, who played Jamal as a child in the movie, had also been flattened. Rubina and Azhar lived in the same part of Mumbai.
One would think that fame might have helped these kids catch a break from functionaries eager to forcibly reorder the world no matter what damage is done to innocent victims in the process; perhaps they might be sensitive to the bad publicity. No such luck.
Not that whether your rights are respected should have anything to do with whether you’re a movie star. Being a human being should be enough.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
4 replies on “Slumdog Eminent Domain Victims”
Your article reminds me of an episode in the 1960s TV series, East Side West Side. George C Scott played a social worker who had to convince that s small business owner, who was about to lose his business and home to urban renewal, that he was going to be better off being unemployed, on welfare and moving to a high rise public housing project! The Liberal bias of the program clearly showed what they thought the better choice was.
To beginn-why are we talkin a foreign country’s policies? I know they have a constitution, but not what it says nor what “rights” it gives te people. Don’t you think it’s a bit more important to complain about the woes or government is inflicting on us, just over the last 100 or so days? Personally , I am not interested in how the foreigners are treated by their governments-we have enough trouble with our own-no need to tqke on the “White man’s burden” again.
Bureaucrats The Same Everywhere…
Arrogant, dismissive of people’s rights, Bent on their own plans, no matter how much it hurt others. In Mumbai, India (why they changed Bombay’s name is beyond me) they are SUDDENLY, and without notice, just coming in and bulldozing hundreds.…..
re: Hank:
I think the troubles we have in the west are very trivial and diminutive by comparison with being removed from the only space you have in this world to call your own. I think you should picture yourself having your house demolished, having probably no proper job, nowhere else to go and no rights to complain either! We have little to complain about when we can eat every day, sleep in a comfortable bed, have a warm place to live and have some kind of work to occupy us. THAT is common sense which is not too common!