SRK detained: Minister Ambika Soni says treat Americans the same way

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni on Saturday reacted angrily to Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan being detained at a US airport, saying it was not justified.

"I don't think that this manner of detaining the name of religion is justified. But in the United States of America several examples have surfaced where frisking takes place more than required, according to us," Soni, who was the tourism minister in the previous government, told reporters.

"I have always felt - even when I was frisked there - that the way they frisk us we should do the same for them here," she added.

Khan was detained for two hours at the Newark airport after US immigration officials spotted the 'Khan' in his name, his aide said.

Shah Rukh was on his way to Chicago to attend a function to mark India's Independence Day.

"He was detained because his surname is Khan. He was kept until officials from the Indian embassy intervened. Now he has been released," Niloufer Qureshi, Shah Rukh's manager, told IANS over telephone from Mumbai.

Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt said the incident is not surprising since the US has had a phobia towards Muslims since 9/11.

"US has had a phobia towards Islam since 9/11. They should have some data on frequent travellers. Shah Rukh is a global icon. They (US authorities) should have been a little fair to him.

Why the double standards asked actor and filmmaker Farooque Sheikh. "There is heightened conservativeness after 9/11 and sometimes it takes the level of almost paranoia. But if they can do it to former president APJ Abdul Kalam, why not Shah Rukh?" said Sheikh.

In April, Kalam was also frisked at the Indira Gandhi International Airport as he was boarding a flight of US carrier Continental Airlines.

The incident had created waves in parliament in July, with MPs from across the spectrum expressing outrage over Kalam being reportedly subjected to a full body check and even asked to remove his footwear as he waited on the aerobridge to board the Newark-bound flight.