By Ishfaq-ul-Hassan / India Tomorrow
SRINAGAR—Fear has gripped Kashmiri students studying in different states after videos of hate speeches against Muslims surfaced on social media following the screening of `The Kashmir Files’.
Jammu Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) has cautioned against “unprovoked attempt of hate, physical, verbal abuse”. JKSA said the onus will lie on the director and promoter of the movie if any Kashmiri student is targeted.
JKSA requested all concerned citizens to spread the message of peace, disown unfortunate attempts of hate peddling and ensure the safety and security of students.
“Pertinently, students from J&K are ambitious Indian citizens pursuing different courses in mainland & have nothing to do (covertly or overtly) with the unfortunate exodus of a particular community. These students have defined career goals aimed to contribute towards nation-building at large,” said Nasir Khuehami, national spokesman of JKSA.
JKSA unequivocally condemned the attempts of distrust and discord that the “particular movie” has sown amongst masses which otherwise were peacefully nurturing the idea of “unity in diversity” and “sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas” at large.
“JKSA requests students to exhibit maximum restraint and immediately report such incidents to nearest police stations and immediate heads of departments/institutions,” said Khuehami.
Written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri, the film is based on the exodus of Kashmiri pandits at the onset of militancy in 1990.
According to Wikipedia, the plot is centred on the journey of a young student of JNU Krishna Pandit, who was led to believe that his parents were killed in an accident, as told by his grandfather Pushkar Nath. He was also under the influence of JNU professor Radhika Menon who believes in the “Kashmir cause’. After the death of his grandfather, he takes the ashes of his body to Kashmir and that is when he learns about the true circumstances of his parent’s death, which is fashioned after the killing of B. K. Ganjoo by Kashmiri insurgents.
The film portrays the events surrounding the exodus as a `genocide’, in which thousands of Kashmiri Hindus were said to have been massacred, women raped and children shot. The displaced families are shown living as refugees till today.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said more films like this need to be made so that people can know the truth.
“Torchbearers of freedom of expression have started a campaign to discredit the film. The whole ecosystem is active against the man who tried to present the truth. Instead of judging the film, they are trying to stop people from watching the film,” a BJP MP quoting Prime Minister Modi said.
Earlier, in the Lok Sabha, the BJP demanded that the movie be exempted from the entertainment tax. Participating in the debate on the Jammu and Kashmir Budget in Lok Sabha, BJP member Jamyang Tsering Namgyal said the film is exposing the bitter truth and hence it should be exempted from entertainment tax. Janata Dal (United) member Sunil Kumar Pintu, too, demanded that the movie be made tax-free, saying the movie reveals the plight of Kashmiri Pandits.
