‘Aatish is an Indian, Bring Him Home’: Aatish Taseer’s Grandmother

“I miss my grandson and he must be brought home,” says Aatish Taseer’s grandmother in the video.

Image of writer Aatish Taseer used for representational purposes.

(Photo: Arnica Kala / The Quint)

Veteran journalist and Aatish Taseer’s mother, Tavleen Singh, on Thursday, 14 November, took to Twitter to share a video of her mother requesting the Modi government to take back its decision to revoke Aatish’s Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) status.

In the video, Aatish’s grandmother says that she is a follower of Prime Minister Modi and has brought up Aatish as an Indian. She further goes on to say that she misses her grandson and that he must be brought home.

“I am Aatish Taseer’s grandmother and I am 90 years old. I am a follower of Mr Modi. I’ve brought Aatish up as an Indian, which he is. I miss him very much and I would like him to come home.”

Aatish Taseer’s grandmother

Earlier, in a strong worded column for The Indian Express, Tavleen Singh wrote that she expressed shock at the government’s move, considering she has always openly supported the prime minister.

In her column, she also wrote that it was Aatish’s article on Modi in Time magazine that catalysed the plot to exile her son.

In an article, novelist and journalist Aatish Taseer had himself reacted to the Modi government’s decision to revoke his Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) status saying that he was expecting a “reprisal” but not a “severing” following his ‘India’s Divider-in-Chief’ article on PM Modi in Time Magazine.

After the Modi government’s decision to revoke his OCI status, support has poured in for the journalist from all quarters.

In a letter, published by free speech platform PEN America, over 260 prominent personalities, including authors Orhan Pamuk, Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie and Amitav Ghosh, have expressed concern over the alleged “targeting” of the journalist and demanded the Indian government to restore his Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card.