http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/27/arts/television/marc-anwar-coronation-street-fired-over-anti-india-twitter-posts.html 2016-09-26 18:47:47 Star of British Soap Opera Is Fired Over Anti-India Twitter Posts Marc Anwar, an actor on “Coronation Street,” condemned India and Indian citizens on Twitter; the police are investigating the activity as a hate crime. === LONDON — Marc Anwar, an actor on “Coronation Street,” one of Britain’s most popular soap operas, has been fired for posting a series of Tweets condemning India and Indian citizens in incendiary language. The Greater Manchester Police said they were investigating the incident after receiving reports of a hate crime, The Guardian The actor posted the Tweets on Friday after news reports of fighting between Indian forces and protesters in the Kashmir region. Protests over India’s presence in the disputed region, which both India and Pakistan claim, have grown in recent months. Mr. Anwar, who was born in Pakistan, used bawdy slurs and swear words to denigrate Indians and India in his Tweets, and in one asked why Pakistani artists would want to leave the country to work in India. The Daily Mirror reported on the Twitter activity over the weekend, publishing an Late on Sunday the actor apologized in a “In a moment of madness, I ranted out, I vented my anger,” he said, adding: “The language that I used I sincerely apologize for.” He also apologized The hugely popular “Coronation Street” follows the residents of a working-class Northern English city as they go about their daily lives. Mr. Anwar has played a character named Sharif Nazir on the show since 2014. A spokeswoman for “Coronation Street” confirmed Mr. Anwar’s departure in an email, and sent a statement expressing shock at the “unacceptable, racially offensive comments” made by the actor. The email said that the show would be edited to minimize Mr. Anwar’s role in coming episodes, but that there were some scenes from which he could not be edited out. Mr. Anwar did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.