Was it right to detain Shah Rukh Khan at New York

Last week, the detention of Shah Rukh Khan at an airport in New York created a lot of furore. The actor, who was visiting the US, to receive the Chubb Fellowship at Yale University was detained and questioned for almost 2 hours before higher authorities intervened and let him go. While the actor himself tried to find humour in the whole episode while interacting with students at Yale, this episode has sparked off a debate whether the US was right in detaining someone as popular as SRK.

There is obviously a huge section of people who believe that beyond being a Superstar, Shah Rukh Khan is also human like another mortal and hence there should be no discrimination. This very section of the public feels that the US Airport authorities were only doing their duty ensuring highest level of safety and protection standards. People also feel that in the past when even someone of the stature of former President Abdul Kalam was questioned, why is such a hue and cry being made about SRK’s detention?

However, on the other hand there is also a section of the public which feels that this is more of racial discrimination and its high time US treats Asians too with some amount of respect. These very people also feel that there is no harm in questioning but the way in which it is done is it at times humiliating and insulting. It may be recalled that SRK had been detained twice prior to this, once during the shooting of My Name Is Khan and second time when he was travelling to LA from Toronto.

Bollywood celebs too have come out and spoken about this controversial topic. Irrfan Khan, who is quite a well known name in the West as well, too recounts the horrifying time when he was detained whilst shooting for his film The Namesake. John Abraham too was detained while he was visiting the US few years ago because his passport showed that he had visited Afghanistan (for filming Kabul Express). John however felt that The US is also doing whatever they can to make their country safe, so it is justified. Politician Omar Abdullah too mentioned on Twitter that such things keep happening and a big deal shouldn’t be made out of it.

There will always be mixed opinion on what is right and what is wrong with respect to this whole detention episode. Do you feel that the US Govt and airport authorities were right in detaining SRK or do you feel that it was yet another case of unfair treatment meted out towards an Asian? You may post in your valuable feedback in the comments section below: