By Jalelah Abu Baker / Channel News Asia
SINGAPORE: A movie on the exodus of Hindus from the disputed Muslim-majority Kashmir region will be banned in Singapore.
The authorities have assessed the Hindi-language film The Kashmir Files to be “beyond” Singapore’s film classification guidelines, said the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) in a joint statement with Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The movie, released in India in March to mixed reviews, tells the fictional story of a university student who learns that his Kashmiri Hindu parents were killed during the violent period of 1989 to 1990.
Hundreds of thousands of people had lost their homes and lives after they were forced out of Kashmir.
“The film will be refused classification for its provocative and one-sided portrayal of Muslims and the depictions of Hindus being persecuted in the on-going conflict in Kashmir,” said the authorities in response to queries from CNA.
“These representations have the potential to cause enmity between different communities, and disrupt social cohesion and religious harmony in our multiracial and multi-religious society.”
Under the film classification guidelines, “any material that is denigrating to racial or religious communities in Singapore” will be refused classification, they added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had praised the film in March, saying it showed the truth of Kashmir’s violent past.
Critics of the movie said it has factual inaccuracies and stokes anti-Muslim sentiments.
This article first appeared on channelnewsasia.com
