The Kashmir files
THE recently released Bollywood film The Kashmir Files has not only refreshed the forgotten story of the migration of Pandits from the Kashmir Valley in the 1990s but has also healed old wounds.
Kashmir Files is said to be one of the most watched films in India so far. The 170-minute film is part of a series of Bollywood films in which Hindus are shown resisting Muslim rulers and their struggles and sacrifices are exaggerated.
Officially, the central and state governments in India made every effort to attract the citizens to watch the Kashmir Files movie.
Discounted tickets were given and sponsorship was also provided in some places. The Kashmir Files sparked a fresh wave of outrage against the Kashmiri Muslim community across India and portrayed it as a group oppressing Hindus.
Right-wing extremist groups and individuals have expressed their anger on social media by using hashtags such as #WakeUpHindu.
According to Indian media reports, after watching the film, many people expressed their determination to take revenge on Kashmiri Muslims.
Remember that the Kashmiri Muslim community is already facing severe repercussions in Indian cities.
The film not only justified the Indian government’s tough policies and its mistreatment of Kashmiris for decades, but also garnered public support for its continuation.
A commentary in Time Magazine summarizes the film’s purpose in a beautiful way. Time Magazine writes: Kashmir Files aims to incite hatred against Muslims, against secular parties which Modi’s followers call anti-Hindu.
The tragic events of the 1990s have led to conflicting views on the pandits who have been forced to flee their homeland.
It is a sad fact that the mass migration of the Pandit community from occupied Kashmir was a shocking event in history.
Wherever anyone had the opportunity to meet Pandit leaders, activists and intellectuals, they found them loving their soil, ancient culture, historical sites and Kashmiri identity.
Pandits tell their stories with great success. The world has listened to them and expressed sympathy.
In contrast, a large number of Muslims who crossed the LoC to escape state repression in the early 1990s are settled in Muzaffarabad.
However, the Indian authorities used them as a weapon to incite hatred and spread anti-Muslim propaganda.
The Kashmir files released in Indian theatres have turned a small minority community against the majority population, making it more difficult for them to return home.
Kashmiri Pandits can also return to their homes if the local community accepts them as neighbours and fellow citizens.
Whereas, Singapore has decided to ban the screening of an Indian film about the migration of Hindus from Indian-occupied Kashmir in the 1990s.
Authorities say that the film could not be screened due to its biased and provocative portrayal of Muslims in the ongoing conflict in Indian-occupied Muslim-majority Kashmir.
Moreover, the photograph was likely to provoke animosity between different communities living in a multicultural and multi-religious country like Singapore as well as affect social and religious tolerance.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lauded the film for emphasizing the truth of Kashmir while Congress and other parties have termed the film as a Hindutva propaganda campaign that is creating an atmosphere against minorities by creating religious fanaticism in India.
The advantage is to be gained in the 2024 parliamentary elections. Meanwhile, Pandit filmmaker Sanjay Kak, while talking to BBC, said, “There are riots and killings in Gujarat and Delhi too.
Why weren’t films made on this if we have to reveal the truth? Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri has raised funds for the film from most Kashmiri pandits living in the US and European countries who have made another controversial film called ‘Tashkent Files’ before the film against which the former grandson of Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri has filed a case in the court.
While ‘Dock Media’ and social media are working together to make the film a success and the box office, the ruling BJP in various states has announced several concessions for employees and their workers to watch the film.
It is of dire need that steps should have been taken to bring them closer together, not to provoke them against each other.
Many internal issues of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir are also related to the nature of India-Pakistan relations.
In this context, the restoration of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and India is a matter of urgency.
The change of government in Islamabad also provides an opportunity to make a fresh start.
Negotiations can be resumed from where it was broken in 2016, ie, India unilaterally suspended all formal diplomatic relations with Pakistan.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Islamabad.
