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Muslim Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan unwittingly sparked a simmering feud in February 2010 when he publicly regretted the fact that there would be no Pakistan players in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament in March.   He was referring to the fact that no teams competing in the league placed bids for any of the Pakistani players available in an auction on 19^th January.   The reason the Pakistani players were snubbed was widely believed to be because of anti-Pakistan feeling in India following the terrorist attacks on Mumbai hotels and landmarks in 2008 by terrorists based in Pakistan in which 166 people were killed.

The protests against Khan’s comments, which were directed at cinemas planning to show his latest film, My Name is Khan, were orchestrated by members of the Shiva Sena movement, a hard-line Hindu Nationalist party which is strongly anti-Muslim.   Formed by a former cartoonist in 1966, the party is named after a 17^th-Century hero called Shivaji who created a Hindu Kingdom and repelled Muslim invaders, and once briefly held power in the 90s in the state of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the capital.

While there were reports that movie screens had been damaged, windows smashed and staff threatened, a police spokesman told the media that ‘More than 1,000 have been arrested as a preventative action and for offences registered yesterday (9^th February).’   Subhash Desai, a leader of the Shiv Sena proclaimed, ‘We don’t want Pakistan players to come to India as that country sent terrorists to Mumbai who killed hundreds of people… We will continue our protests and agitation against Khan and his movie until he apologises.’

Khan, a part-owner of the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders, refused to apologise for his comments.

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12/2/2010: My Name is Khan Packs Multiplexes