Poster of The Kashmir Flies / Photograph by Zee Studios

Discrediting The Kashmir Files or discrediting the plight of Kashmiri Pandits?

The Kashmir Files, directed by Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri, has become an Internet sensation not just because of its whopping collections but also for its content. Left-liberals claim TKF to be exploitative, a propaganda tool and Islamophobic, while right-wing people claim it to be India's Schindler's List and an eye-opener.

One must agree that The Kashmir Files (TKF) had the ruling party's support after facing backlash from the left liberals and the Muslim community. Opposition leaders like Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Benerjee and Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao joined the chorus of criticising TKF. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also commented that "there is an entire ecosystem that is working against the film" and there is "a conspiracy to discredit the film." Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states went to the extent of waiving the tax, and the Madhya Pradesh government went a step forward and granted a one-day leave to the public-sector employees, those who wanted to watch the film. Why so much attention to a movie?

Because the entire left-liberal ecosystem, from actors to politicians, was engaging in an online war against the film — TKF. Left media was constantly struggling to discredit the film. The criticism had a positive impact on the sale of tickets and the film gained attention and popularity due to enormous opposition. The left media and their scholars accused TKF of hate-mongering toward Muslims and disturbing the peace between Hindus and Muslims. Previously, many films showed Hindu upper caste people in a bad light. Can we call them hate-mongering, propaganda films against upper-caste people?

Also, many films and documentaries like Final Solution, blame only Hindus for the Gujarat riots without shedding much light on the train arson that later instigated the disaster. Where were these intellectuals who are now concerned about brotherhood and peace? Why did they not raise their voice against these movies for their inaccurate depiction? Because it suits their agenda.

The left media accused TKF of spreading false news and selecting truths to propagate right-wing propaganda. Not long ago, the same media was also rooting for the film Jai Bheem, where makers claimed that it was based on actual events. In the film, a Vanniyar police officer is shown as being cruel to the tribals and the Dalits, while that police officer belonged to a Christian community in reality. Where were these intellectuals then? Was not that subject of spreading fake news, hate-mongering against upper caste people, and portraying them badly for the crime they have not committed? For left-wingers, the film is a masterpiece and a tool that upholds constitutional values; if it is against their agenda, then it is propaganda. If somebody has the right to criticise TKF, then it is definitely not the left and its media because they are the ones that spread selective truths against the film, in the first place.

Related link: The Kashmiri Pandits: An Ethnic Cleansing the World Forgot (satp.org)

Recent or old, the intention is the same

Left parties have criticised the use of slogans that have emerged years after the forced exodus, like, "Batav bagair, batnev saan" (without Pandit men, but with their women), and "Raleev, Galeev, ya Chaleev" (convert, perish, or flee) in the film. Yes, the slogans may be recent, but they are against Kashmiri Hindus. Nobody can deny that these are hateful slogans.

In the film, Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri had mentioned that thousands of Kashmiri Pandits were murdered while the government sources mentioned 219, and Kashmiri Pandit Sangarash Samiti stated the number to be 399. In this scenario, Agnihotri's statement seems to be inaccurate. But nobody can deny that by 2011 there were more than 60,000 families registered as Kashmiri migrants, and they never returned to their homes in the Kashmir Valley. How can they? Even a high-profile Kashmiri Pandit like Neelkanth Ganjoo, a judge of the Kashmir High Court, could not get protection and was killed by Islamic militants in the valley. It is true that liberal Muslims were also killed in the same incident. But who was the culprit?

Agnihotri has received death threats, and in another incident, two people were arrested in Adilabad of Telangana for pro-Pakistan slogans during the TKF screening. As usual, no left media sheds light on these incidents, and nobody calls them Islamic extremists when they can openly criticise Hindutva as terrorism.

Even after 30 years, Kashmiri Pandits could not return to their home in the Kashmir Valley, and no political party has done much to rehabilitate them. In my opinion, only Kashmiri Pandits have the right to judge the TKF for the pain they have gone through, not the left and their media and definitely not the culprits.

Those of you who worry about the peace and brotherhood of Hindus and Muslims — you can not bring any change to eradicate the differences if you do not even acknowledge those who have suffered.