Controversy over film on the exodus of Hindus in Indian Kashmir

Srinagar (India), March 18 (EFE) .- The film “The Kashmir Files” about the killings and evictions of Hindu minorities in the Muslim-majority region was screened today, a week ago, causing a stir in India. , Praised by the Hindu right, while others accuse it of being Islamophobic and discriminatory.

The controversy, yes, pushed box office receipts and increased its revenue to 1,000 million rupees (approximately $ 13 million), producer Zee Studios celebrated on Twitter today: “The truth is immeasurable and ‘The Kashmir Archives’ collection. Unlimited!”.

The “true” percentage in the story describing how a young Hindu discovered the murder of his parents, as part of the exodus of Hindu Kashmiri – so-called Pandits – during the armed violence, caused much controversy. 1989 by separatist Muslim groups.

Statistics vary depending on the source, but according to regional government data, about 40,000 Pandit families migrated to neighboring Jammu when the violence broke out, and 20,000 fled to New Delhi and 800 remained in Kashmir.

In the number of scholars killed, the figures vary. So, an official source in the region said the total for Efe was 209, a number that many Indian media outlets have repeatedly said, the official response of the Kashmiri police last November putting that number at 89 Hindus. It has been calculated since 1990 and not 1989, the most violent year.

The police response revealed that “the number of people of other religions killed in the terrorist attacks is 1,635”, underscoring the fact that human drama affects everyone in the same Indian region where Muslims are in dispute with Pakistan.

Compliments and reviews

The Hindu Nationalist BJP, the ruling Hindu nationalist party of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has repeatedly praised the film for its unprecedented Kashmiri drama, and even BJP-ruled areas have announced that the film will be tax-exempt. , Or even in the central state. The Madhya Pradesh Police was given a day off to see her.

But critics call it the campaign, an attempt to justify controversial decisions in the region, namely the withdrawal of its semi-autonomous status in 2019, as well as an electoral weapon in the run-up to the 2024 general election.

Pandit Satish Mahaldar, who runs the “Jammu and Kashmir Peace Forum” and the organization for reconciliation, repatriation and rehabilitation, described the “Kashmir archives” as a personalized product for a special purpose politically designed. Said the place. Region.

The Pandit activist also criticized the government for not taking concrete steps for the resettlement of the Hindu community in Kashmir, despite the debate that “there is no political party, not even the BJP”.

An unnamed Kashmiri Muslim educator told Efe that in his opinion he was trying to “justify everything done to the people of Kashmir” and to use the institutions “against majority Kashmir” after many years to avoid retaliation. , Indian government now uses Bollywood cinema.

However, the university professor did not deny the pundits’ plight of having to face “terribly difficult times in the early 1990s”, with dreams of returning to their homeland one day, but he did critique the story.

Another critic, Pandit filmmaker Sanjay Gogh, who is the author of the 2007 documentary on Kashmir, told Efe that the film was “a very serious event and its delivery as the right-wingers in India want it to be”.

Sanjay Diku, president of the association, which claims to represent the 800 Hindu families who remained in Kashmir after the outbreak of violence, told Efe that the incidents he described were “correct but misleading”.

“Such misconceptions about the incidents have deepened the gap between Kashmiri Muslims and Hindus,” he lamented. EFE

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