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Friday, October 31, 2014

30th Anniversary of Sikh Genocide, a survivor writes his story

Survivor of Sikh Genocides writes on 30th Anniversary.
Published at:

Dallas, Texas, October 31, 2014.  It’s been 30 years since the Sikh Massacre took place in New Delhi; justice is still not served to the victims and their families. The fanatics among Hindus went on a rampage of killing 3000 Sikhs within a week, just because they were Sikhs and nothing but that. The Moderate Hindus, Muslims, Christians and others have condemned the acts of the fanatics.

As we have been learning about the mind set of criminals regardless of what religious garb they don, invariably they deny – some even say, why bring it up, there is no problem now. They are lying to themselves, the sparks of hatred are potent, and can catch the fire any time.

There is a criminal lurking in each one of us, we need to find him and destroy him before he eats us out from within. If we justify the rapes, murders, killing, massacres or genocides by believing "they asked for it" "they ignited it" or worse "they deserved it", then we have a serious problem and need to find a release.

What is needed is to face the problem squarely, acknowledging the wrong doing, and apologizing to the victims and finding mukti, the Jain Dharma offers a great phrase – Michami Dukadam, that is clean each other’s slates and start afresh.

Injustice is the mother of Adharma – i.e., everything that is wrong in the society stems from injustice, and Martin Luther King said, injustice to one is injustice to all at the end.

I hope one day, India will focus on cleaning up its dirty stains – there are many unfinished items on our plate that prick the nation from time to time. The hatred against the other is part of that mess.

Prime Minister Modi believes that when there is prosperity, most of the nagging things will go away, I hope they do. But I believe until we sit down face to face and acknowledge the evil in each one of us, and commit to go forward dumping the old baggage, we will be limping along. We need to reboot our souls, hearts and minds.

The following write up is from a Sikh Survivor of the 1984 Sikh Massacre.  It is a shame that many a families are still waiting for the whereabouts of their loved ones missing for over 30 years. The Indian Government has a responsibility to take this up, to bring relief to the victims of these massacres. I do hope Mr. Modi, as the Prime Minister of the nation, who claims to be a Hindu, acts like a Hindu and restores Dharma – the righteousness and justice to fellow beings.   

Pritpal Singh has spoken at our Holocaust and Genocides events and I am pleased to share his story with you, please feel free to share wherever you like.

The Foundation for Pluralism and the World Muslim Congress is commemorating Holocaust and Genocides for the last seven years, as a step towards reconciling with each other and learning about each others pain and suffering of each of us humans on this planet.

Wayne Slater of Dallas Morning News wrote, “
Ghouse says he hopes attendees will walk out better appreciating the sufferings of others and seeing “the perpetrator in us” as a way of building trust across social and religious lines.

“I called on my friends with the idea of commemorating the event, and thus began this journey,” said Ghouse. “Education is the purpose; we have to learn, acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things that we humans have inflicted upon each other, and we have to understand that our safety hinges on the safety of all others around us.”

“There is a shameless cruelty in us, either we shy away or refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it will devalue our own or somehow it amounts to infidelity to our own cause,” he said. “We should be ashamed of ourselves in justifying the massacres by falsely propagating the myth that the victims deserved it, or asked for it.” It shows an absence of intelligence.

Our event is comprised of 3 segments; Holocaust is the anchor event every year, then Genocides and a Massacre. We have been able to address many Genocides around the Globe, as well as the Massacre of Bangladeshis in 1971, Sikhs in New Delhi in 1984 and Muslims in Gujarat in 2002.  

The criminals are still at large and need to be punished to restore peace of mind to the victims and their families. That is the least a head of the state can do for his countrymen and it is good for the psyche of the people.

Mike Ghouse
www.MikeGhouse.net

 






 



1984:  My Struggle & Inspiration

According to famous Czech writer Milan Kundera, "the first step in liquidating a people is to erase its memory.  Destroy its books, its culture, its history.  Then have somebody write new books, manufacture a new culture, invent a new history.  Before long that nation will begin to forget what it is and what it was...  The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting."  We are here today to continue that struggle.  Never had the citizens of independent India experienced state sponsored genocide against its own people.

  After the assassination of PM Indira Gandhi, for three days the well-organized mob with explicit instructions from the federal government went to loot, destroy, rape, eliminate every identifiable Sikh on India.  Iron rods, crow bars, kerosene, and firearms were provided to mobs.  Voter lists, ration lists, and school registration lists were used to identify & track Sikhs, Gurdwaras, and Sikh businesses. 

Slogans like "blood for blood" were shown repeatedly on state controlled TV.  Rumors were circulated about the violence against Hindus in Punjab to incite hatred against Sikhs in India.  Sikh soldiers were disarmed and confined to barracks while army was deliberately kept outside Delhi until 11/4.  All this occurred in the presence of police who ignored the violence or at times aided in it.  The police officers who deviated from this order were neutralized and records were manipulated to destroy paper trail and to protect criminals from prosecution.  For the Sikh victims, the police refused to record FIR (First Information Reports) or falsified them.

 According to NY times, there was complete censorship of the press.  The relief measures were inadequate.  VM Tarkunde, retired justice of the Indian Supreme Court, stated "Two lessons can be drawn from the experience of Delhi riots.  One is about the extent of criminalization of our politics and the other about the utter unreliability of our police force in critical situation."  According to government report the number of Sikhs killed in Delhi was 2733; HS Phoolka, Delhi high court lawyer, estimates 4000; Affidavits have been filed for 5015; Madhu Kishwar, editor of Manushi, estimates 10,000.  These   estimates are just in Delhi while the killings occurred throughout India.

 Rajiv Gandhi justified the Sikh murders, rapes, loot & arson by saying, "When a great tree falls, earth trembles."  The result of the violence against an easily identifiable minority was winning 414/533 seats in the parliament for Congress Party of India.  Even the opposition party, Sangh Parivar, stated the Sikhs invited the attacks. 

There have been 11 commissions & inquiries but no high level politician or law enforcement official has been convicted despite eye witness accounts and abundant of evidence.  On the other hand, the perpetrators were awarded cabinet positions, governorships, and party chief positions.  The lack of accountability against the organizers of the Genocide paved the way to the violence against Muslims in Gujarat in 2002. 

Pogroms will continue to occur in India unless the State acknowledges and records these violations in a transparent & honest manner, toward cleansing itself of the people and the institutions that perpetrate these crimes and addressing the survivors' rights to knowledge, justice, and reparation.

 I, as a survivor of the Sikh Genocide of 1984, wait for a day when the citizens of India will demand and display the very ideals of unity, justice, and healing as the citizens of America illustrated after the Wisconsin massacre in 2012.  So, my dear brothers & sisters, we cannot forget the killings of innocent people no matter where they occur.  Instead, we ought to remember, revive, and respond like our fathers & mothers did.  They sought Inspiration from within and channeled their energy toward discovering their role in pursuit of Justice.

Pritpal Singh 

Monday, October 27, 2014

Essence of Diwali, the Indian festival of Lights

Diwali is the Indian festival of lights and is celebrated on a large scale throughout India and the Indian Diaspora. It is also celebrated in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore, Guyana, West Indies, Fiji, and of course, here in the United States. Diwali is about hope, Diwali brings light, Diwali signifies end of darkness and Diwali signifies end of ignorance and beginning of enlightenment.  You can greet your friends with any one of these phrases, "Happy Diwali", "Diwali Mubarak", Diwali ki Shubh Kamnayein" and the very Best of Diwali to you.  


Diwali is spelled differently, and is called by many names. There is Divali among others, and Deepavali, meaning the festival of lights. Although Diwali is a Hindu tradition, many a people of different faiths participate in celebrations - Jains, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Zoroastrians and others of India and Indian origins.
People decorate their homes with lights and Rangoli, i.e., colorful drawing in the front yard of the home, sidewalks, even roads in India with colorful powders or colorful pieces of chalk. Women and Children look forward to expressing their artistic talent in this season. Their surroundings filled with colorful lights to enliven the day, to mark the dawn of a new era in one's life.

My childhood is filled with good memories of Diwali; the sparklers, the food and everything joyous you can imagine.
A few years ago, Jyoti and Nishi Bhatia, former President of DFW Hindu Temple and President of Dallas Hindi Association respectively, asked me to speak about Diwali in a dinner gathering to a group of people from different faiths and cultures, and I cherished it, I love talking about Diwali, as its essence reflects the ideals of pluralism, and symbolizes hope and positive energy, victory of good over evil; a new beginning. It is indeed seeing the light at the end of tunnel.
  
Diwali Celebration is a part of the epic Ramayana, and the Ram Lila (enactment of the story on stage) is played out all night long in towns across India. I grew up watching it in front of my house, and my friends played different roles in the show. Indeed, one of my former relatives played Hanuman’s role.
It was a challenge for me to teach Ramayana to a group of people who knew nothing about it. It turned out to be a successful program. I prepared the nearly all white audience that I will be narrating the story through the power point and along will be reinforcing the names and roles of the key persons in the story and will ask them for feed back at the end. Friends, I cannot tell you the joy, the Bhatias and I felt when each one of them answered the questions from the story. They got it! It is a powerful story and takes about 30 minutes to narrate.
The epic is filled with educative tales, edifying poems, and fables. It is probably through their constant retelling in the villages over centuries that Hinduism is most efficiently disseminated from generation to generation.
Whenever a society rots with adharma (wrong path), where no one cares about the other, lying, stealing and dishonesty become rampant, Lord Krishna says,I will emerge among you and restore the righteousness and trust in the society to function smoothly." Zarathustra, Moses, Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad, Krishna, Nanak, Mahavira, Confucius, Tao and others served the same purpose. it is almost like the laws of physics ; water finds its own level, and righteousness finds its own existence.
Rama is one such incarnation who reestablished the moral code for social conduct and proper relation of mankind to divinity. He was truthful and a just king.
Diwali symbolizes hope and positive energy
  • People wear new clothes
  • Share sweets as a symbol of happiness
  • Renew the relationships
  • Strengthen the bonds
It signifies a new beginning, starting out fresh.
  • for most businesses it is the new financial year
  • An inventory of assets is taken
  • An assessment of family and relationship
  • Last harvest for the farmers
  • New things are bought
To those celebrating Diwali, I wish you, your families and loved ones Happy Diwali and Saal Mubarak.”
Today, on this blessed day, we have a blank slate to start, let's plan on filling it with doing good things for ourselves, to our family, friends, community, nation and the world until next Diwali.
What are good things? Words and actions that bring peace, Mukti, salvation, Moksha, nirvana, Nijaat and freedom to us, yes us. There is so much of joy waiting to be had. If we can remove hatred and anger towards others, forgive others and ask for forgiveness (Michami Dukadam is a beautiful phrase the Jain's use), then a blissful year is sure to come for each one of you and me.
  • May this Diwali purge your heart, mind and soul from hate, malice, anger and ill-will;
  • May this Diwali open your hearts and minds towards fellow being;
  • May this Diwali brighten your life, and may this Diwali mark the dawn of a new era;
Muslims are a big part of Diwali as well, and innumerable poets have written poetries and songs about Diwali. Here is my effort, I wrote this seven years ago on the occasion when Diwali and Ramadan were celebrated around the same time.
ये मेरी दिवाली है, ये मेरी ईद है
दोनों में खुशी ही खुशी है
A meri diwali hai, a meri eid hai
donon may khushi hi khushi hai -
दिवाली से नया साल शुरू होता है
रमज़ान एक नया इंसान बनाता है
 Diwali say naya saal shuru hota hai
Ramzan ek naya insaan banata hai -
दिवाली मैं एक एक बात का हिसाब होता है
रमज़ान में हर बात का रिव्यू होता है
 Diwali may ek ek baat ka hisab hota hai
Ramzan may her baat ka review hota hai -
दिवाली नए साल के लिए क्लीन स्लेट देता है
रमज़ान पिछले साल का स्लेट क्लीन करता है
Diwali nayay saal ke liye clean slate deta hai
Ramzan pichlay saal ki slate clean karta hai -
बात ही बात में मैंने एक नयी नज़्म लिख दी साहिर
दिवाली और रमज़ान से सबका अच्छा ही होता है
Baat hi baat may, my nay a sher likh diya Sahir
Diwali aur Ramzan say subka acha hi hota hai
Happy Diwali to you my friends, may this Diwali bring happiness, serenity and peace to you. Amen!
दोनों में खुशी ही खुशी है


Thank you
mike

Mike Ghouse

(214) 325-1916 text/talk

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  1. www.TheGhouseDiary.com
  2. http://foundationforpluralism.blogspot.com
  3. http://MikeGhouseforIndia.blogspot.com
  4. https://www.saddahaq.com/humaninterest/EssenceOfDiwali/essence-of-diwali-the-indian-festival-of-lights
............................................................................................................................... 
Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture, ethnicity, food and foreign policy. All about him is listed in several links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.comand 10 other blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

Other side of ‘Love Jihad’- famous Interfaith Couples in India

Right now, the extremist Hindus in India are making a hell for interfaith marriages, hacking and beating the couples to death. I hope the moderate Hindus speak up against this non-sense.  Let the Indians be free to marry whoever they want, believe in whatever the hell they want to believe. India is not ISIS or Talibans - these guys need to be sent to Afghanistan or Iraq to live with those murderers, they will fit right in with them.

Mike Ghouse


Other side of ‘Love Jihad’- List of renowned Hindus who had a Muslim wife

images (1)
Actor Sunil Dutt married Nargis, a Muslim.
By Muslim Mirror News,
NEW DELHI: While the RSS  & Co  is  raking the issue of ‘Love  Jihad’ only to demonize Muslims and defame Islam , presenting the other side of the story we are giving  a list of over 100  famous Hindus who had a Muslim wife. The question is if marrying a Hindu girl is called ‘Love Jihad’ then what word will be used for those Hindus who had a Muslim wife? Although Islam doesn’t approve such inter religious marriages at all.
1. Actor Sunil Dutt married Nargis, a Muslim. Nargis’ father was a Hindu. She was named Nirmala after marriage. Their son Sanjay is now married to Dilnawaz Sheikh (screen name Manyata). They have twins – a boy named Shahraan and a girl named Iqra.
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2. Urdu author Krishan Chander married Salma Siddiqui
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3. Actor Hritik Roshan married Suzanne Khan, daughter of actor Sanjay Khan (Actual name Abbas Khan). They have two sons named Hrehan and Hridhaan.
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4. One of the three daughters of politician Najma Heptullah (niece of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad) is married to a Hindu.
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5. Actor Atul Agnihotri married Alvira Khan, actor Salman Khan’s Sister and Salim Khan’s daughter. The couple have a daughter, Alizeb and a son, Ayaan.
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6. Actor Feroz Khan’s daughter Laila Khan Rajpal married Rohit Rajpal. They are now divorced.
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7. Former Sheriff of Mumbai, Nana Chudasama is a Hindu Gujarati Rajput. He married a Hindu lady. They had a daughter, Brinda. Thereafter they divorced and Nana married Munaira Jasdanvala, a Bohra Muslim who was also a divorcee. They have two children- Akshay and Shaina, both of whom are married to Hindus. Shaina is an MP belonging to BJP.
Brinda, Nana’s daughter from his first marriage, is married to architect Alfaz Miller, a Muslim. They have two daughters, Ahana and Ashti.
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8. Actor Sanjay Khan’s daughter Simone Khan Arora is married to Ajay Arora (and other daughter Suzanne to Hritik Roshan)
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9. Actor Aditya Pancholi is married to actor Zarina Wahab. Their children are Suraj and Sarah.
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10. Cricketer Ajit Agarkar, a Maharashtrian Brahmin, is married to Fatima Ghadially. They have a son, Raj.
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11. Actor Sunil Shetty is married to Mana Qadri, daughter of a reputed Muslim architect of Mumbai. Their children are Atiya and Ahan. Mana is daughter of I. M. Qadri (Muslim) and late Vipula Qadri (Hindu). Qadri and Vipula have two more children, Isha and Rahul, both of whom are married to Hindus.
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12. Congress MP Sachin Pilot, son of Late Rajesh Pilot is married to Sarah Abdullah, Daughter of Former J&K Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah. Thet faced opposition from both families.
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13. Actor Govinda’s father, small time actor Arun Ahuja married Nazeem, later known as Nirmala Devi (Govinda’s mother). She is no more.
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14. Zubeida, a Muslim girl from a prominent Mumbai family was pushed into marrying a Muslim youth in 1947. The husband divorced her when she refused to migrate to Pakistan with him. She later married Hanuwant Singh, the then Maharaja of Jodhpur. Both later died in an unexplained air crash. She was the mother of film critic-turned director Khalid Mohammed (‘Fizaa’, ‘Tehzeeb’, ‘Silsilay’). Khalid wrote the script of film ‘Zubeida’ which was directed by Shyam Benegal with Karishma Kapur in the title role.
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15. Actor Ayesha Takia’s father, Nishit, is a Gujarati Hindu while her mother Farida is a Muslim. Ayesha Takia married a Muslim named Farhan, son of politician Abu Azmi.
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16. Bollywood Movie Director Mahesh Bhatt had a Hindu father (director Nanabhai Bhatt) and a Muslim Shia mother (Shireen Mohammed Ali). But they were never married and never lived together. Their relationship has been portrayed in Mahesh Bhatt’s film ‘Zakhm’ starring Ajay Devgan. Mahesh Bhatt’s two nephews, actor Emraan Hashmi and director Mohit Suri are Muslim and Hindu respectively. (Emraan’s mother is Christian).
Mahesh Bhatt had a very public affair with Parveen Babi. He later married Kiran. They had a daughter, the film acress and director Pooja and a son, Rahul. Thereafter, they divorced and Mahesh married Soni Razdan who is a Muslim. They have two daughters, Shaheen and actress Aliya (seen in the film ‘Student Of The Year’).
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17. Actor Emraan Hashmi ( son of a Muslim father and a Christian mother) is married to Parveen Shahani, a Sindhi Hindu. Their son is Ayaan.
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18. Director/Choreographer Farah Khan married director-editor Shirish Kunder. They have triplets – Anya, Diva (both daughters) and Czar (son).
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19. Actress Nagma’s (Nandita Morarji) father Sri Arvind Pratapsinh Morarji married a Muslim woman, Seema Sadhana. Seema later divorced Arvind and married producer Chander Sadanah from whom she had two daughters, Radhika and actress Jyothika and one son, Suraj. Thus, Jyothika and Naghma are half-sisters, born to a Muslim mother. Jyothika is now married to Tamil star Surya Sivakumar. Naghma is single.
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20. Top Tamil actor Khushbu, a Muslim, married director Sunder C after converting to Hinduism. They have two daughters, Avantika and Anandita.
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21. Gangster turned Politician Arun Gawli married Zubeida Mujawar who converted to Hinduism and took up the name Asha. They have five children, Geeta, Yogita, Yogesh, Mahesh and Asmita. Geeta is an active politician in Mumbai.
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22. Manoj Bajpai married actor Shabana Raza whose screen name was Neha. She made her debut in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s ‘Kareeb’ opposite Bobby Deol. Their daughter is Ava Nayla.
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23. Actor Pankaj Kapoor married TV actor Kanwal (screen name Neelima) Azim. Her best remembered big screen appearance was in Mahesh Bhatt’s film ‘Sadak’ as Deepak Tijori’s girlfriend. Parents to actor Shahid Kapur, they are divorced now.
Neelima Azim got married a second time to actor Rajesh Khattar (supporting roles in films like ‘Don’, ‘Race 2? and ‘Khiladi 786?). Their son is Ishaan. They got divorced too. Rajesh Khattar later married Vandana Sajnani.
Neelima is now married to Ustad Ali Raza Khan, a singer.
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24. Karnataka Congress MLA Gundu Dinesh Rao is married to Tabassum.
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25. Nayyara Mirza, Miss India finalist of 1967, was the first Muslim to participate in the pageant. She converted to Hinduism after marriage and became Nalini Patel. She is settled in the USA.
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26. Noted English writer Anil Dharkar is married to Imtiaz, a Pakistani Muslim. Their daughter Ayesha is an actor who came to limelight with Santosh Sivan’s film ‘The Terrorist’ where she played a suicide bomber. She is married to actor Robert Taylor, a Christian.
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27. Legendary actor Waheeda Rahman married Shashi Rekhi, the Punjabi Hindu actor who acted opposite her in the film ‘Shagun’. (His screen name was Kamaljeet). She has a son, Sohail and a daughter, Kashvi. Kamaljeet died a few years ago.
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28. Choreographer Saroj Khan’s real name was Nirmala Kishanchand Sadhu (Sindhi Hindu). She got married at young age to bollywood dance master B Sohanlal. They had 2 kids, Kuku and Choreographer Raju Khan (also director of the film ‘Showbiz’). But Saroj did not know that Sohanlal was already married. He abandoned her. Then she married businessman Sardar Roshan Khan who also was a married man. Her children, though not Muslim, use the name Khan.
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29. M J Akbar, noted journalist and editor of ‘The Asian Age’ is a Kashmiri Muslim (His great grandfather had converted from Hinduism to Islam) married to Mallika, a Hindu. His children are Prayag and Mukulika.
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30. Raj Babbar married stage actress Nadira Zaheer, daughter of Communist parents. Their kids are Arya and Juhi. Arya acted in Mani Ratnam’s ‘Guru’ as Aishwarya Rai’s brother. Juhi also did a couple of films. She was married to Vijay Nambiar but got divorced. She is now married to TV actor Anup Soni.
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31. Actor – activist Nafisa Ali, a former Miss India, is married to Colonel (retired) Sodhi, a Sikh (not a Hindu, please note!). She is herself a child of a Muslim father and a Roman Catholic mother. Her daughters are Armana and Pia. Armana is married to Adil Singh Akoi, a Sikh.
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32. Hindi writer Nasira Sharma is a Muslim married to a Hindu. They have two children.
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33. Yesteryear’s actor Mumtaz married Mayur Madhvani, a businessman. Their daughter Natasha, is married to actor Fardeen Khan. Other daughter is Tanya.
Mumtaz’s sister, Mallika married Dara Singh’s brother, Randhawa who featured in many stunt films of 60?s. Their son Shaad acted in the film ‘Woh Lamhe’ as the abusive boyfriend of Kangna Ranaut.
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34. The ex Naval Chief Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat who was dismissed by Defence Minister George Fernandes under controversial circumstances is married to Niloufer Deshmukh – Bhagwat, a Muslim. They have a son, Jawahar (a naval officer) and a daughter, Roshni (a doctor).
Niloufer herself is a child of a Muslim father (Mahmood Deshmukh) and a Parsi mother.
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35. Actor -singer Kishore Kumar married Madhubala (real name Mumtaz Begum) in 1960. They had a civil marriage without ceremony due to staunch opposition from both families. (It is said that Kishore had converted to Islam for the marriage). Madhubala died in 1969 without becoming a mother. After her death, Kishore married Leena Chandavarkar. Their son is singer Amit Kumar.
Madhubala’s sister Zahida married music director Brij Bhushan Sahni (films like ‘Milap’). Her post-marriage name is Madhur Bhushan.
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36. Sir VS Naipaul, Trinidad based writer of International reputation, is a Hindu (of Indian origin) married to a Pakistani Muslim called Nadia.
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37. Actor Asha Parekh’s father was a Gujarati Hindu and mother, a Muslim. Her affair with director Nasir Husain was the talk of the town but she is unmarried to this day.
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38. Suman Chattopadhyay, a Bengali leftist activist of Kolkata (Brahmin by birth) divorced his German wife Maria, converted to Islam and married Sabina Yasmin, a Bangladeshi Muslim singer in July 2008. He has taken the name Kabir Suman. He is now a Trinamool Congress MP.
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39. The niece of actor Raza Murad, Sonam (actual name Bakhtawar), best known as the ‘Tridev’ girl, married Rajeev Rai, producer and director of that film. They have one son, Gaurav.
40. Item song girl Sanobar Kabir (cousin of actress Sonam and daughter of actor Raza Murad) is married to actor Rajiv Singh.
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41. Yesteryear’s actor Rehana Sultan, known for her bold, controversial films like ‘Chetna’ and ‘Dastak’ in late 70s, married producer – director B R Ishara, a Hindu. Ishara was the director of most of Rehana’s films. They have no children.
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42. Social activist Shamim Modi is married to fellow activist Anurag Modi.
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43. Veteran actress Zohra Sehgal (originally Khan) married Late Kamaleshwar Nath Sehgal. Their daughter is famous Odessy exponent Kiran Sehgal and and son, Pavan.
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44. TV Actress Tasneem Sheikh is married to builder Sameer Nerurkar. Her post-mariage name is Tanisha Nerurkar. Tasneem is a daughter of a Gujarati Hindu mother and a Muslim father.
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45. Late politician Rafique Zakaria’s daughter Tasneem is married to Vikram Mehta.
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46. Pakistani actress Anita Ayub who appeared in some films in 90s, got married to Saumil Patel and is now settled in USA. They have one son.
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47. Congress MP from Assam, Rani Narah was originally Jahan Ara Chaudhary before she married Politician Bharat Chandra Narah and converted to Hinduism. They have two sons.
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48. Filmmaker Tinu Anand (Also known as Virender Raj Anand, director of ‘Shahanshah’) is married to actress Shahnaz (sister of actor Jalal Agha. Acted in ‘Saat Hindustani’). Their son is director Siddharth Anand (Director of ‘Salaam Namaste’).
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49. Scriptwriter Shama Zaidi (who has worked with Shyam Benegal on many films) is married to noted filmmaker MS Sathyu who had made ‘Garam Hawa’ starring Balraj Sahni.
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50. Roshan Ara, Daughter of Ustad Allauddin Khan married Ustad Ravi Shankar and became the famous Sitar Player Annapurna Devi. Their son is Shubhendra Sarkar. Annapurna is a Padma Bhushan awardee. Shubhendra died in 1992.
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51. Cinematographer Fowzia Fatima (works in Malayalam industry) is married to Pradeep Cherian. They have one daughter, Ana Mariyam.
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52. Ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas is married to Fareeda. They have two daughters, Nayaab and Rewa.
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53. Yesteryear’s actress Zahida (Hussain) who acted opposite Dev Anand in ‘Gambler’ and ‘Prem Pujari’ and opposite Sanjeev Kumar in ‘Anokhi Raat’, married Mr KN Sahay. She is actor Sanjay Dutt’s cousin. Her sons are Brajesh and Nilesh.
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54. The most tragic case is that of Producer-director Brij Sadanah (Victoria No 203). Against wishes of both families, he married small time actress Saeeda Khanum, who had acted in films like ‘Modern Girl’(Pradeep Kumar), ‘Honeymoon’(Manoj Kumar) and ‘Crorepati’ (Kishore Kumar) in 60s. (The song ‘Ye Mausam Rangeen Sama’ from ‘Modern Girl’ is still heard on radio sometimes). Saeeda converted to become Sudha. They had a daughter, Namrata and a son Kamal (the lead actor opposite Kajol in ‘Bekhudi’). Namrata fell in love with a Muslim boy and wanted to marry. Brij could not accept this. One day, he got drunk, shot his daughter and his wife, and then killed himself with the same gun. Kamal survived as he was not at home that time.
Kamal is now married to Lisa John and has one son, Angath. Saeeda’s younger sister is screenplay writer Shagufta Rafique who has written recent Mahesh Bhatt films like ‘Awarapan’ and ‘Woh Lamhe’.
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55. Actor Nirmal Pandey (won national award for ‘Daayra’)was married to Kausar Munir, one of the very few woman lyricists working in Bollywood. They got divorced. Nirmal Pandey is no more. Their daughter is Sophie.
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56. Veteran film and media critic Amita Malik (a Bengali Hindu) married radio producer Iqbal Malik. However, they separated later. They had no children. Amita died in Feb 2009.
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57. Actress Tabassum known for her TV show ‘Phool Khile Hai Gulshan Gulshan’ on DD is the daughter of Ayodhyanath and Asghari. She is married to Vijay, brother of actor Arun Govil (Lord Ram of TV Serial ‘Ramayan’).
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58. Model Feroze Gujral is the daughter of a Christian father, George and a Muslim mother, Viqar. She is married to Mohit, son of painter Satish Gujral. They have a son, Armaan and a daughter, Alaiyah.
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59. Late Asif Currimbhoy was a well-known actor of Mumbai’s English stage. His daughter Nahid is married to Amit Moitra. They have 2 daughters, Tehzeeb and Tahini.
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60. Yesteryear’s actress Meena Shorey (Khursheed Jahaan), whose claim to fame is the blockbuster hit ‘Ek Thi Ladki’ (1949), married Roop K Shorey, the producer and director of this film. A few years after partition, she divorced Roop and migrated to Pakistan. Over there, she married Pakistani actor Asad Bukhari but divorced him too. Roop K Shorey died in 1973. Meena died in 1987 in abject poverty. Her funeral had to be arranged on charity money.
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61. Filmmaker Hansal Mehta (Woodstock Villa, Chhal, Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai) is married to Safina, daughter of actor Yusuf Hussain who does supporting roles in bollywood. Their daughter is Kimaya.
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62. Theatre actress Ayesha Raza is married to actor Kumud Mishra.
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63. Iconic bollywood villain Ranjeet (Bedi) is married to Nazneen. Their daughter is Divyanka.
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64. ‘Raam Teri Ganga Maili’ star Mandakini (real name Yasmeen) was born to a Christian father and a Muslim mother. She is married to one Dr Thakur and has one son.
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65. Cricketer Manoj Prabhakar is married to Farheen, an actress who was seen in a few films in the 90s and was noted for her resemblance to Madhuri Dixit. Their son is Rahul.
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66. Hyder Ali, writer of the film ‘Jodha Akbar’, (also the onscreen singer of the song Khwaja Mere Khwaja) is married to Dr Uma Shankari.
His sister is Naqi Jehan (Nandini after marriage to Vikram Kamdar) who was the Miss India 1967. She also acted opposite Rajesh Khanna in ‘Akhree Khat’.
Their parents were first Miss India Esther Victoria Abraham (Jewish) and Syed Hassan Ali Zaidi, who acted in ‘Mughal-E-Azam’ with screen name Kumar.
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67. Elahe Heptollah, assistant director and producer of most Nagesh Kukunoor films, was married to cricketer Vidyut Jaysimha. They are now divorced.
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68. Journalist Shabnam Minwalla (herself a child of Muslim – Parsi marriage) is maried to Rohit Ramakrishnan. They have three children.
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69. One of bollywood’s best-known child actors, Baby Naaz (real name Salma Baig) was married to Late Raj Kapoor’s cousin, actor Subi Raj. She won many awards for her 1954 film ‘Boot Polish’. She was also a skilled dubbing artist and provided voice for Sridevi and other actresses. She died in 1995.
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70. Indian English writer Amitava Kumar is married to Pakistani Muslim Mona Ahmed Ali. They have a daughter, Ila.
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71. Singer Shamshad Begum (Kabhi Aar Kabhi Paar Laga Teer-e-Nazar) married Ganpat Lal Batto. He died in 1955. Their daughter is Usha.
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72. World-famous beauty expert and entrepreneur Shahnaz Husain married and divorced a Muslim man. Now she is married to a Hindu businessman RK Puri.
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73. Actor Jackie Shroff is son of a Hindu father, Kakubhai Shroff and a Turkish Muslim mother Hoorunnisa (Rita post-marriage). Their other son, Hemant died in childhood. Jackie Shroff has a son, Jai and a daughter, Krishna.
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74. Legendary Urdu writer Late Ismat Chughtai’s daughter Seema is married to Mr Sawhney. Their son is Ashish.
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75. Actress Veena (Tajour Sultana, sister of actor Iftekhar). married character actor TK Sapru. Their children are supporting actor Tej Sapru who did countless negetive roles in 80s and 90s and actress Preeti Sapru.
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76. Maharashtra Congress politician (who has also been a minister) Ramesh Bagwe is married to Zainab, a Muslim of Irani origin. Their sons are Avinash and Yaser. Yaser is married to Irani Muslim Mahdiyeh Vaseei.
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77. Old-time actress Chand Usmani married director Mahesh Kaul.
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78. Late Safdar Hashmi’s sister Shehla Hashmi is married to Mr Grewal.
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79. Actress Aditi Rao Hyderi who played Sonam Kapoor’s sister in the film ‘Delhi 6? and was one of the leads in Ýeh Saali Zindagi’, is a curious case. Her maternal grandfather is the royal Brig. Raja J Rameshwar Rao of Hyderabad and her father’s grandfather was the Prime Minister to the Nizam of Hyderabad, Sir Akbar Hydari. Her husband is Satyadeep Misra. Her mother is Shanta Rameshwara Rao who runs the publishing house Orient Longman.
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80. Mehelka, sister of legendary ‘tragedy queen’ actress Late Meena Kumari (Mahjabeen Bano) married Kishore Sharma and was renamed Madhuri after marriage. Meena Kumari and her sisters were daughters of a Muslim father and a Bengali Hindu mother.
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81. Late Dhrupad singer (died Aug 2006) Asghari Bai was married to Chaman Lal Gupta. Her children were Kamal, Ashok, Parveen, Anju etc.
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82. Tamil film director Late Jeeva (died 2009) was married to Anees Tanvir.
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83. Yaman Khan, daughter of classical singer Late Vilayat Khan (and a Hindu mother, Monisha), was married to Raja Bahadur Shivendra Singh. They are now divorced.
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84. Veteran singer Asha Bhosle’s son Hemant is married to Sajida (Rama after conversion to Hinduism). Their children are son Chaitanya and daughter Anika.
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85. Paki actress Noor was married to Dubai-based NRI Vikram Seth. They had no children and are now divorced.
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86. Actress Noor Jehan’s half-Paki, Half-French granddaughter Sonya Jehan (who played Shah Rukh Khan’s sister-in-law in “My Name Is Khan”) is married to Indian Hindu Vivek Narain. They have a daughter.
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87. Graphic novelist Sarnath Banerjee, a Hindu of Indian origin is married to Bani Abidi, a Pakistani Muslim.
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88. Yesteryear’s bollywood actress Jabeen Jaleel married Kashmiri Pandit Ashok Kak, once the President of Kodak India. Their son Dwij acted in the 2005 film ‘Saathi’.
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89. Malayali Hindu artist Sumedh Rajendran is married to Masooma Syed, a Pakistani Muslim.
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90. News anchor Sehar Zaman (presently with CNN IBN) is married to writer Dhiraj Singh.
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91. Bollywood actor Aftab Shivdasani is son of a Hindu father, Prem Shivdasani and a Muslim mother, Sandha.
Aftab’s sister Afsana is married to a Hindu, Amit Varma.
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92. CNN-IBN Newsanchor Fatima Mahdi is married to Gaurav Karan. Their son is Azaan.
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93. Politician and present Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari is married to Nazneen Shifa. They have a daughter.
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94. Malayalam actress Zarina Moidu (screen name Nadiya) is married to investment banker Shirish Godbole, a Maharashtrian Hindu. They have two daughters, Sanam and Sera.
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95. Communist leader Late Indrajit Gupta married Suraiya at the age of 65. Suraiya was previously married to a Muslim.
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96. Communist leader Sitaram Yechury is married to journalist Seema Chisti.
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97. Zubeida Begum, the lead actress in the first Indian talkie film ‘Alam Ara’, married Maharaj Narsing Dhanrajgir Gyan Bahadur of Hyderabad. She herself was from the royal family of Surat. Their son is Humayun and the grandchildren include socialite Rhea Pillai (ex wife of Actor Sanjay Dutt) among others. Zubeida died in 1988.
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98. Priyanka Gandhi’s brother-in-law Richard Vadra (Robert’s brother) married Saira. Robert and Richard are sons of a Hindu Punjabi father and a Christian mother. In spite of their Christian names, they are Hindu by faith. Richard died in 2003 and was cremated as per Hindu tradition. Saira is daughter of a Muslim father and Christian mother. Richard and Saira’s daughter is Simran.
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99. Actor Sumit Sehgal married actress Shaheen (seen opposite Govinda in film ‘Mahasangram’). Their daughter is Sayesha.
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100. Stylist Pernia Qureishi is married to entrepreneur Arjun Prasad, a relative of Congress politician Jiten Prasada.
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101. Legendary Marathi stage actor Balgandharva (famous for his female roles on stage, real name Narayan Rajhans) married actress Gohar Jan Karnataki in 1951. This was his second marriage, after demise of his first Hindu wife. Gohar Jan was the sister of film actress Ameerbai Karnataki and herself had acted in a few films. Balgandharva and Gohar Jan had no children. Balgandharva had two daughters from his first marriage and Gohar had an adopted daugher, Ashamma. Neither converted at the time of marriage. Gohar Jan was buried after death and Balgandharva was cremated.
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102. Dr Rubina Baskhi, the grand daughter of Bakshi Ghulam Muhammad (former Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir) is married to Ranjit Malhotra.
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103. TV actor Gajendra Chuahan (who played Yudhishtir is BR Chopra’s series ‘Mahabharat’ on Doordarshan) married bollywood choreographer Habiba Rahman.
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104. Pakistani Muslim journalist Sonya Fatah is married to indian Hindu husband Rajiv Rao. They have one son.
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105. Saba Naqvi , co-editor of Outlook magazine, is married to Sanjay Bhowmick.
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106. Celebrated Malayali soft porn actress Shakeela married businessman PG Satheesh, a Tamil Hindu.
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107. Umaima, who is daughter of well-known social activist from Vadodara Dr Juzer S Bandookwala, is married to Maulin Gajjar, a Gujarati Hindu.
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108. Uttarakhand Congress leader and MLA Kishor Upadhyaya’s brother Sachin is married to Nazia Yusuf.
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109. Maharashtra politician Late Hamid Dalwai’s daughter married Sharad Chavan.
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110. Writer-activist Arshiya Sattar is married to Sanjay Iyer.
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111. Tamil actor – director – dancer Prabhu Devaa (Now famous as director of Hindi films ‘Wanted’ and ‘Rowdy Rathore’) married Ramalat, a Muslim. She converted to Hinduism and was renamed Latha. They are now divorced.
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112. Mediaperson and writer Shabia Hussain is married to Ravi Walia and has a daughter Sia.
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113. Poet Iqbal who wrote the song ‘Sare Jahan Se Achchha Hindustan Hamara’ but unfortunately, later became the biggest proponent of idea of Pakistan, had Kashmiri Pandit ancestry. It is said that he was son of Ratan Lal Sapru and a Muslim woman Iman Bibi. It is also said that Ratan Lal had to convert to Islam at the time of marriage.
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115. USA based filmmaker Rohi Mirza is married to felow filmmaker Gitesh Pandya. Her brother Ameer is married to a Hindu. Their parents are Pakistani Muslim (father) and Filipino (mother).
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116. Actor-wrestler Dara Singh’s son Vindu (also an actor) married 80s actress Farha Naaz. Their son is Fateh.
They are long divorced. According to Vindu, “The fights started because of the way our son was being brought up. Farha was turning Fateh into a fanatic. When she decided to leave with our son, I didn’t try to stop her.”
Vindoo is now married to a Russian Christian lady.

117. Old-time music composer Anil Biswas (died 2003) married Mehrunnisa, a Kutchi Muslim actress who converted to Hinduism and was renamed as Ashalata. They had three sons- Pradeep, Utpal and Amit – and a daughter, Shikha. They later seperated and Anil married Meena Kapoor.
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118. Mubarak Begum, the legendary playback singer of old times, married Jagannath Sharma. They seperated later. Their children are Muslim.
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119. Actor Aamir Khan’s sister Nikhat (daughter of filmmaker Tahir Hussain, aunt to actor Imran Khan) is married to Santosh Hegde. Their children are Sehar (daughter) and Shravan (son).
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120. Kolkata-based medical specialist and activist Dr Sariha Abubaker is married to Alokesh Banerjee. Their children are Zinnya and Zoriyon.
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121. Artist Niloufer Suleman married a Malayali Hindu man. They are now divorced. Their children are daughter Shiloh and son Shan. Niloufer is a self-confessed believer in Lord Ganesha and Godess Saraswati.
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122. Niece of Humayun Kabir, educationist, politician, writer, philosopher (also a minister in Nehru govt), Shukla Kabir, a judge, is married to Manas Sinha.
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123. Actress Salma Agha’s grandmother Anwari Begum (who had acted opposite KL Saigal and other leading actors of those times) was had a daughter named Nasreen from her Muslim husband. Later Anwari divorced her first husband and married actor Jugal Kishore Mehra, brother of Prithviraj Kapoor’s wife Ramsarni Mehra. Jugal Kishor Mehra had to convert to Islam and assume the name Ahmed Suleman before marriage. Nasreen too, later married a Muslim.
This is an example of an entire family getting incorporated into the fold of Islam and remaining so for generations, even though the man was a Hindu.
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124. Actress Gohar Mamajiwala (famous as “Glorious Gohar”, died in 1985) was in a long, lifetime relationship with Bollywood movie mogul Chandulal Shah (died 1975). She never left his side even though he fell upon bad days later. However, they were never officially married. Shah remained married to another (Hindu) woman and the marriage was never dissolved.
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125. TV actress Shabnam Syed married TV professional Saurabh Vanzara. She converted to Hinduism before marriage and has renamed herself Surbhi Vanzara.
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126. Designer Arshiya Fakih is married to Rij Eippen, a Malayali Hindu.
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127. Malaysian citizen Siti Fatimah Abdul Karim (daughter of a Christian father and Hindu mother who both converted to Islam), married a Hindu named V. Suresh, converted to Hinduism and renamed herself Revathi Masoosai. The couple had to struggle against Islamic law in Malaysia for a long time. They have a daughter named Divya Darshini.
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128. Journalist (presently editor of Asian Age) Seema Mustafa is married to a Hindu man. Her children are Agneya and Gayatri.
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129. Oriya film actress Aparajita Mohanty is daughter of a Muslim father and a Hindu mother. She is married to actor Uttam Mohanty and has one son, Babusan.
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130. Businessperson, Socalite and Charity Founder Faiza Seth is married to businessperson Pallak Seth who is presently Vice Chairman and Managing Director of PDS Multinational Group. Faiza is daughter of Tahir and Tasneem Abbasi while Pallak is son of Deepak Seth.
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131. IPS officer Mrs Aslam Khan is married to Hindu Husband Mr Pankaj Kumar Singh. They have one daughter Sufi.
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132. Legendary Sitar player Ravi Shankar (died 2012) married Roshanara Khan (daughter of classical singer Allauddin Khan). She converted to Hinduism and took up the name Annapurna Devi. Their son was Shubhendra(died young in 1992). The marriage did not last long. After divorce, Annapurna remained single for a long time, before marrying Rishi Kumar Pandya.
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133. Bangladeshi Hindu music composer Kamal Dasgupta (son of Taraprasanna Dasgupta and Kamini) married singer Firoza Begum. Their sons Hamin and Shafin and daughter Tehsin are all Muslims. Kamal Dasgupta died in Dhaka in 1973.
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134. South film actress Sakshi Shivanand (and her sister actress Shilpa Shivanand too) is daughter of a Hindu father and a Muslim mother (Parveen).
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135. Roohi Oomerbhoy, daughter of business tycoon Ahmed Oomerbhoy (and sister of Riyaad) is married to Chetan Jaikishen.
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136. Grand niece of legendary Urdu writer Saadat Hasan Manto and noted Pakistani historian, Ayesha Jalal is married to Indian Hindu Husband Sugata Bose, who is grand nephew of One of Greatest Indian Freedom Fighter Subhash Chandra Bose and grandson of Sarat Chandra Bose.
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137. Indian cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar’s son Nakul Vengsarkar married TV anchor Ayesha Faridi. She is herself a child of a Muslim father, Javed and Hindu mother Vinita.
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138. Prominent filmmaker Subhash Ghai married Rehana Farooqui who converted to Hinduism and adopted the name Mukta. Their daughters are Meghna and Muskaan. Meghna is married to Rahul Puri.
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139. TV actress Alefia Kapadia was married to Prem Nawaz Dharmraj. They are now seperated. Their children, Altaf and Mahika are Muslim.
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140. Actor Emraan Hashmi (himself married to a Hindu), belongs to a family that, in spite of inter-religious marriages, has been entirely incorporated into the Muslim fold.
His grandmother is actress Poornima (screen name). She is a Bohri Muslim by the name of Meher Bano. Curiously, she is daughter of a Hindu father, Ram Sheshadri Iyengar and a Muslim mother (name not known). In spite of the man being a Hindu, the family thus merged into the Muslim fold. Apart from Meher Bano, they had another daughter Shireen, who was the second wife of filmmaker Nanabhai Bhatt, (parents of director Mahesh Bhatt).
Poornima married a Muslim, Shauqat Hashmi and had children. One of them was Anwar Hashmi, actor Emraan Hashmi’s father. However, Shauqat migrated to Pakistan at the time of India’s partition. Therafter, Meher Bano (Poornima) got married again, this time to a Hindu filmmaker, Bhagwan Das Varma. However, they did not have any children.
Anwar Hashmi married a Roman Catholic woman who converted to Islam. Emraan Hashmi is their son. He is a Muslim. He, in turn, has also married a Hindu woman, Parveen.
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141. Famous character actor Iftekhar (himself married to a Jew who converted to Islam) had two daughters, Salma and Sayeeda. Salma married Bipin Chandra Jain. Their son is Vishal. Ifthekhar’s other daughter, Sayeeda married a Muslim.
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142. Yesteryear’s leading actor Shyam (born Shyam Sunder Chaddha) who died in 1951 after a fall from horseback during a film shoot, was married to Mumtaz Qureishi. They had a daughter, Sahira and a son Shakir (born after Shyam’s death). After Shyam’s death, Mumtaz migrated to Pakistan and married a Muslim. The two children were converted to Islam. Anyway, they had Muslim names.