Aamir Says He Is Not Leaving India, Neither Is His Family. Here's His Full Statement

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Amid the raging controversy around his remarks on 'growing religious intolerance', Aamir Khan has come out and cleared the air around the entire debate that 'literally' broke the internet. The actor on Wednesday said he is a proud Indian and has no intentions of leaving the country.

"Neither I, nor my wife Kiran, have any intention of leaving the country. We never did, and nor would we like to in the future. Anyone implying the opposite has either not seen my interview or is deliberately trying to distort what I have said. India is my country, I love it, I feel fortunate for being born here, and this is where I am staying."

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While thanking his supporters for being on his side while he faced allegations of being anti-national, Aamir said he stands by his comment on the issue of 'rising intolerance' in India.

"I stand by everything that I have said in my interview. To all those people who are calling me anti-national, I would like to say that I am proud to be Indian, and I do not need anyone's permission nor endorsement for that. To all the people shouting obscenities at me for speaking my heart out, it saddens me to say you are only proving my point."

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Aamir's intolerance statement created a stir with political parties, the film fraternity and even social media began criticising him.

While actors like Anupam Kher, Raveena Tandon, Paresh Rawal and Rishi Kapoor lashed out at him many including filmmaker Farah Khan and music maestro AR Rahman stood by him.

At an event held by Express Group on Monday, Aamir had pointed out at an increased sense of despondency over the past 6-8 months and said that he was alarmed by it. He further shared that his wife Kiran Rao had talked about of leaving India in the face of such a scenario, thus inviting all the backlash.

Here is the full copy of his statement:

First let me state categorically that neither I, nor my wife Kiran, have any intention of leaving the country. We never did, and nor would we like to in the future. Anyone implying the opposite has either not seen my interview or is deliberately trying to distort what I have said. India is my country, I love it, I feel fortunate for being born here, and this is where I am staying.Secondly, I stand by everything that I have said in my interview.

To all those people who are calling me anti-national, I would like to say that I am proud to be Indian, and I do not need anyone¡¯s permission nor endorsement for that.

To all the people shouting obscenities at me for speaking my heart out, it saddens me to say you are only proving my point.

To all the people who have stood by me, thank you. We have to protect what this beautiful and unique country of ours really stands for. We have to protect its integrity, diversity, inclusiveness, its many languages, its culture, its history, its tolerance, it¡¯s concept of ekantavada, it¡¯s love, sensitivity and its emotional strength.

I would like to end my statement with a poem by Rabindranath Tagore, it¡¯s a prayer really:

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high, Where knowledge is free, Where the world has not been broken up into fragments, by narrow domestic walls, Where words come out from the depth of truth, Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection, Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way, Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit, Where the mind is led forward by thee, Into ever-widening thought and action, Into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake.

Jai Hind.

Aamir Khan.