After tweet justifying locust attack, Zaira Wasim quits Twitter
National award-winning former actor Zaira-wasim'>Zaira Wasim recently faced massive backlash after she put out a controversial tweet. In the tweet, Zaira used a verse from the Islamic religious text Quran to purportedly justify the ongoing locust attack, that has wreaked havoc across several states in northern India. After coming under fire, Zaira deleted her Twitter and Instagram accounts. Here's more on this.
Here's what Zaira wrote in her tweet
Quoting the holy book, Zaira tweeted, "So We sent upon them the flood and locusts and lice and frogs and blood: Signs openly self explained: but they were steeped in arrogance- a people given to sin. (sic)"
What is a locust attack?
Locusts are voracious grasshoppers, that are known to hop on crops and destroy vegetation within a matter of hours. They travel in huge numbers and feed on crops along the way. In fact, each locust can eat as much food as its own weight. Currently, India faces a major threat from swarms of locusts that have flown from neighboring Pakistan and Iran.
India currently faces worst such attack in decades
Zaira's insensitive tweet comparing "people's arrogance" with a locust attack comes at a time when the country is reeling under the worst such attack in more than two decades. The ongoing locust attack has brought huge distress to farmers, who are already distraught due to economic implications of the pandemic. Several states such as Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Haryana have been affected.
Zaira received backlash from fellow netizens
The tweet earned Zaira huge backlash. Netizens accused her of using religion to justify her "bigotry and hate". "Well she just used a Quran's verse to justify Locusts attack on a country which offered her an opportunity in cosmopolitan city," a user tweeted. "Zaira Wasim is a textbook case of a good kid, lost to society's thirst for toeing the line," said another.
Last year, Zaira cited religion as she announced retirement
Last year, Zaira sparked a huge controversy as she announced her retirement from acting. The 19-year-old claimed that her line of work interfered with her faith, asserting that her "relationship with religion was threatened." Attuning her decision to the Quran and the God's messenger, Zaira had added, "No amount of success, fame, authority or wealth is worth trading or losing your peace."
She featured in three films during her brief career
During her brief career of five years in Bollywood, Zaira featured in movies like Aamir Khan-starrer blockbuster Dangal and Advait Chandan's Secret Superstar. The Sky Is Pink, which released last year, was her last film.
