Key Points
Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan using the guru-shishya parampara to justify assaulting a student with a slipper is an example of how the mentor-mentee relationship in classical arts has been twisted into something exploitative...
Two days ago, Pakistani journalist Ghulam Abbas Shah posted a video clip, where Khan can be seen repeatedly hitting a man over a missing bottle.Khan has denied the bottle referred to alcohol, making his shishya, whom he beat, come on camera with his father to claim that it was holy waterPir ji ka dum kiya hua paaniwhich he had misplaced...
The relationship between a teacher and student is such that when he does well, we give him love and when he does wrong, we punish him, Khan said in a clarification video posted on Instagram soon after the assault clip went viral on social media..
But the damage was done.. Many times it is the torch bearers of tradition that end up setting the worst examples for society Rafay Mahmood, a Karachi based journalist posted on X (Twitter), and called Khan a vile, horrendous monster...
This unhinderedpower over students was also cited as one of the the reason behind the alleged abuse by classical musicians Gundecha brothers in Bhopal and by Kathak dancer Birju Maharaj...
