In the late 1990s and early 2000s, many popular Pakistani musical artistes gained a lot of fame in India. Adnan Sami, Atif Aslam, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan had songs that were featured in many popular Indian films, and their music albums became extremely popular in India. While most of them were travelling to India only for work, Adnan decided to stay back, and eventually made India his home in 2015 as he surrendered his Pakistani citizenship, and got an Indian citizenship. Now, in a new interview, Adnan said that he did not move to India for any monetary benefit as he left assets worth crores in Pakistan when he moved to India.
In a chat with HT City, Adnan said that he could have chosen Germany, UK, Canada or US for a new citizenship but he chose India “because of conviction.” He said that this was an “informed decision” and that getting an Indian citizenship “did not come on a platter.” He shared, “When you’re born into a family of a certain faith or social status, it’s not your choice, you inherit it. But when you convert and take to another religion, you do so because you study the philosophy of that belief and understand what it stands for. So, it’s an informed decision. Making India my home didn’t come on a platter. I could have become a German, British, Canadian or US citizen. I chose India because of conviction. And that’s something Pakistan cannot stand.”
Adnan shared that grew up “amid the same propaganda in Pakistan” until he moved to India and saw the country for himself. “Now I know exactly how India is and how Pakistan is. If someone says I moved to India for money, I want to tell them that I left assets worth crores when I moved to India. When I stand at the airport in India and look at the flag, I tell myself, ‘My kids better remember what their father went through to get that flag, because it’s something that didn’t come on a platter’. I live with those emotions. I have every right to love my country, my India,” he said.
In a recent interview with Bollywood Bubble, he compared Pakistan to an “ex-lover” who acts in a jealous way when their partner moves on. “It’s like an ex-lover. When an ex-lover sees you moving on and getting involved with somebody else, they’ll always come up with reasons to hate you. But the reason why they actually do that is because they still haven’t gotten over you. It’s love, and love manifests in many absurd ways.” he said.
