Should he or shouldn't he?

Why did other airlines ban him and tag the aviation minister What are they trying to proveHansal Mehta WriterDirectorSo when I first saw the video I didnt see it as being Arnab and KunalmdashI saw a passenger who was being heckled and forced into a conversation against his own will At that point I saw it as not being in good taste And I tweeted the same But seeing the turn of eventsmdashhow the airlines have behavedmdashI now have changed my stand Why did other airlines besides Indigo which Kamra and Goswami were flying ban him and then tag the aviation minister What are they trying to proveI stopped following Arnab on television a long time ago I find his debates obnoxious He is used to heckling people on his show I just thought that on a plane one is entitled to their own private space But Arnab has brought it on himselfAs a journalist he has crossed all lines He has a responsibility to the people of India and he isnt showing it When you see the video you realise that there is anger in Kunals voice And now I understand that anger I watched Goswamis channels coverage of Shaheen Bagh protest site in Delhi recently and Arnabs stand was that the shooter at Jamia Milia University on January 30 was a protester against the Citizenship Amendment Act He was trying to propagate that narrative Now I am angryI still wish he had found another way more artistic more in line with his sharp sense of humourVarun Grover Writer StandUp ComicI understood where Kunal was coming frommdashhis anger and his urgent need to tell Arnab how hes sullied the profession of journalism with his goonlike behaviour and biasedagenda which he pushes through his news show I still wish he had found another waymdashmore artistic and by artistic I mean more humane and more in line with his very sharp sense of humour But then thats unfair toomdashto put the burden of my expectations on a fellow artistes behaviourThe response of the airlines and the aviation minister throwing his diktats through Twitter when a formal investigation hadnt even begun and when the pilot actually supported Kunal had a kind of surreal beauty to it I was very tense before that but I had a good laugh when other airlines also banned him It was great to see that no matter how big you aremdashpeople running airline businesses are pretty big and rich and influential I guessmdashare scared of the establishment That means my ordinariness and your bigness have no real difference And it made me feel equal to them We all are equally scared We all understand each other better nowOne of the ways a liberal mindset is different from a conservative one is that selfcritical voices are respected at least in theory The debate about civility might seem redundant at such a time when young victims of news TV vitriol are roaming around with guns on the streets but I think thats what art is for To find the conscience and humour in the darkest most immoral of times And to communicate that conscience and humourmdashnot to the choir but across the lines They have guns we only have our peaceful logical artistic arguments Like they have to keep polishing and refilling their guns we have to keep checking our arguments and communication methodsIndia has two brand icons across the worldmdashGandhi and yoga Both these things have been our PMs calling card too whenever he goes abroad Both these things symbolise peace calmness and a humanistic holistic approach to the worst of times The way the government and the airlines have reacted to Kunals satyagraha is sharply in contrast to how he has reacted after the multiple bans He is still smiling thanking the airlines on Twitter explaining the emotional reasons for his act etc Its very clear for any reader of this whole episode that Kunal is holding up the brand image of India zen fearless while the establishment comes across as bulliesCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates