Promises 10% discount for one week to customers who shout anti-Pak. slogan

Sayyed Khan, a Kharghar restaurateur, believes in wearing his patriotism on his sleeve, or rather, displaying it at his door. Mr. Khan has introduced a 10% discount for customers who shout ‘Pakistan murdabad’ outside his restaurant Lucky Tawa at Sector 7 in Kharghar.

‘Spread positivity’

The scheme was launched on Wednesday and will continue for a week. Mr. Khan said, “After the Pulwama attack, there has been an outrage among people across the country. I too was angered and wanted to do something. I am not financially strong enough to donate much, so my staff and I discussed various options.”

On Tuesday night, the team came up with the idea of having customers shout slogans against Pakistan “to show unity in our country”. While a discount could dent his earnings further, Mr. Khan is content at being able to “spread positivity.”

It has been more than business as usual in a way, he says. Curious customers line up at his restaurant to take a selfie with him, and the visitors come from all over. Mr. Khan has taken videos of every visitor who shouts the slogan and uploaded them on social media. This has led to more people coming in.

Mr. Khan said, “A family from Mahabaleshwar who were returning home from Mumbai, made a visit to my hotel just to take a selfie with me and left after inviting me to their hotel in Mahabaleshwar. Most of the people who are coming here are not coming to eat, but rather, to appreciate the attempt and shout the slogan.”

However, not everyone is participating in the patriotism drive. He said, “Some of them didn’t want to name any country for terrorism while others said they were not comfortable shouting the slogan. They obviously didn’t get the discount.”

‘Terror has no religion’

Mr. Khan has, on several occasions, been angered by social media posts that target his community over terrorism. He said, “I have not faced criticism, but several social media posts targeting the community for the wrongdoings of others has irked me. That’s why I wanted to show that terrorism has no religion and we are among the normal citizens of India. I am an Indian first and equally patriotic and outraged to see terrorists killing my nation’s soldiers.”

The trolls on Twitter, of course, don’t seem to think so. Mr. Khan gives them a fitting reply: he just ignores them and reads only the encouraging tweets.