Bollywood hero and humanitarian, Akshay Kumar, has received an overwhelming response to his campaign against the wrongful usage of the ‘R-Word’ (‘Retard’). In less than a month, over nine million people have signed up to the campaign (with numbers rising continually) which aims to ensure that mentally and physically challenged individuals are recognised as equal members of society.
Fellow members of the Indian film fraternity, such as Amitabh Bachchan, have already shown their support to Akshay’s initiative. The humanitarian actor and Special Olympics Ambassador said, “The campaign is not about being politically correct; it is about being sensitive.”
The ‘Ban the R Word’ signature campaign will culminate with a major event entitled ‘Be a Fan of Dignity’, taking place in Bangalore. The show will see Akshay modelling outfits by local designer, Ramesh Dembla, on the runway. The humanitarian actor will also award those people who have achieved new records for the campaign. So far, the highest amount of signatures – 98,000 – comes from a school in India. After the event, all the signatures received will be handed to both the National Parliament and the Social Justice Department in Delhi, in a bid to ban the ‘R-Word’ from all languages spoken in India.
Akshay Kumar is still encouraging people to back the campaign, which has already become a great success. “Join me in pledging your support to the intellectually challenged,” states the Bollywood Ambassador.
Check out Akshay’s Pledge!
To join Akshay Kumar in the campaign to ban the ‘R’ Word, please visit www.r-wordindia.org.
