On Sunday, October 26, writer Javed Akhtar confronted a user on the X social networking site on a perceived similarity, or dissimilarity between the establishment of the Jewish state of Israel in the Middle East, by ousting the Palestinians, and the Mughal rule in India.
The post posted by the user was concise and sarcastic; it was referred to as Jews are occupiers in Jerusalem but Mughals are natives in Mathra -Jihadi Logic, which seemingly meant that in case the Jews were called occupiers, the Mughals should be called the same thing.
Javed Akhtar Schools X User Over Israel-Mughal Comparison
In his response, Javed Akhtar informed the user that, he must have been a very poor student not only in history but mathematics as well.
He put it in the following way: In case you cannot discern the contrast between nearly 3 (and) 1/2 centuries of the medieval era and 75 years of the 20 th century you ought to revisit the school.
The reign of the Mughals extended into much of the Indian subcontinent until the entry of the British East India Company in the middle of the 18th century.
You must have been a very bad student of not only history but mathematics too . If you can’t find the diffrence between almost three n a half centuries of medieval times and 75 years of 20th century you should go back to the school . Btw you need a lesson or two o secularism too…
— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) October 26, 2025
Javed Akhtar Sparks Debate After Dismissing Israel-Mughal Comparison
In the case of Israel, the state itself was formed as late as 1948 and since then wars have been pushed to its borders, which most recently were planned to take over the West Bank and Gaza, the two most significant Palestinian-run areas that were left relatively self-governing.
Akhtar also responded to the communal tone of the X post of the user when he informed him that he/she required a lesson or two (in) secularism as well, i.e. keeping the same distance between all sorts of religious/communal prejudice.
However, then it requires some guts, he added.
Javed Akhtar is a writer who tries to defy communalism and religious dogma in most of his postings and speeches, but he is always subjected to brickbats by the right wings of both the Hindu and Muslim communities. He says that he is always consistent.
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