On India’s 79th Independence Day, veteran lyricist and writer Javed Akhtar shared a heartfelt message on social media platform X, reminding people that the nation’s freedom came after immense sacrifices, not as a mere gift. He wrote, “Happy Independence Day to all my Indian sisters and brothers. Let’s not forget this independence was not given to us on a platter. Today we must remember and salute those who went to jails and those who went to gallows for getting us Azaadi. Let’s see that we never lose this precious gift.”

However, a troll tried to provoke him by commenting, “Aapka happy independence to 14th August hai,” implying that Akhtar should celebrate Pakistan’s Independence Day instead.

The lyricist hit back with a sharp response, saying, “Beta jab tumhare baap dada angrez ke joote chaat rahe thay mere buzurg desh ki aazadi ke liye kaala pani mein mar rahe thay. Apni auqat mein raho” (Son, while your forefathers were licking the boots of the British, my ancestors were dying in Kala Pani for the country’s freedom. Know your place).

The term Kala Pani refers to the infamous Cellular Jail in the Andaman Islands, where numerous Indian freedom fighters were brutally imprisoned by the British.

Javed Akhtar’s family has a deep connection with India’s freedom movement. His great-grandfather, Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi, was a poet and freedom fighter who issued a fatwa supporting the 1857 revolt and later died in the Andamans. His grandfather, Muztar Khairabadi, and father, Jan Nisar Akhtar, were also renowned poets celebrated for their writings on freedom, justice, and resistance.