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New Delhi . Famous author and lyricist Javed Akhtar is known for his outspoken opinions and clear views. He has also openly expressed his views on religion many times. Now he has shared an interesting anecdote to the upbringing of his children Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar. Javed Akhtar told that he did not associate his two children with any religious identity since childhood. According to him, children were given the freedom to decide how they view religion and faith when they grow up.

Javed Akhtar told in a conversation that this incident happened when Farhan Akhtar was about 7 or 8 years old. One day he returned home from school and asked his father a question which forced Javed to think. Farhan asked him if we were Muslims. This question was also natural because children grow up hearing talks about religion and community from the people and society around them. But instead of tying his son to any religious identity, Javed explained him a different perspective.

According to Javed Akhtar, he told Farhan that the city or community in which a person is born does not determine his true identity. A person may be born in Mumbai, Pune, Agra, Ahmedabad, London or New York but the place of birth cannot be the most important identity of his personality. The most important thing for them is what kind of person a person becomes when he grows up and what kind of humanity is visible in his behavior.

Javed told that he did not bring up Farhan and Zoya by linking them to any religion. As both their children grew up, they themselves began to understand religion and society, but there was no pressure from their parents to adopt any particular religious identity. According to Javed, his children grew up with their own thinking and decisions rather than any religious identity.

Farhan and Zoya are the children of Javed Akhtar and his first wife Honey Irani. Later Javed married actress Shabana Azmi. Both Farhan and Zoya have created their own identity in the entertainment world. Farhan has been successful as an actor, director, producer and writer while Zoya Akhtar has made her special place in the field of direction and writing.

Javed Akhtar is proud of his children's achievements. He also said that Farhan and Zoya did not make any compromise for their success. According to him, both of them did not do such work to gain name, fame and money which would affect their dignity. He made his mark on his own and progressed steadily in his career.

This anecdote of Javed Akhtar is not only a memory to Farhan's childhood but also brings forward his thinking regarding the upbringing of children. Instead of imposing religious identity on children, he gave them the freedom to ask questions, understand and develop their own thinking. A small question asked by Farhan in his childhood and his father's answer even today gives a special glimpse of Javed Akhtar's ideology.