Mumbai: Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri on Saturday told cast and crew of ‘The Kerala Story’ that their lives will not be the same as they “will receive unimaginable hate”.
Taking to Twitter, the filmmaker posted a note telling the team of ‘The Kerala Story’ about the “bad news.”
“CINEMA AND INDIC RENNIASANCE: The Kerala Story. I grew up listening to great filmmakers and cinema critics that the only purpose of art is to provoke people into questioning their own beliefs and biases. I also grew up listening that cinema reflects the reality of a society. I was told that cinema must destroy old Gods and create new Gods,” Vivek started the thread on Twitter.
“I have come to realise that in modern times, cinema has the power to do what media and politics can’t do. It can present uncomfortable reality, correct history, fight culture war and also become the soft power of a nation for larger interest. In India, making such cinema is not easy.”
“I tried it with Buddha in A Traffic Jam, The Tashkent Files and The Kashmir Files. I have been physically, professionally, socially and psychologically assaulted.”
He said that his forthcoming film ‘The Vaccine War’, a positive film, celebrating India’s greatest achievement, is constantly being attacked.
“Mostly by the same people who taught me all the above. When it releases, later this year, I can guarantee they will attack it with a new design because they don’t want India to succeed. Because Truth must not be told. Bharat must not be celebrated,” added the filmmaker.
Lending support, he added: “Dear Vipul Shah & @sudiptoSENtlm, @adah_sharma and team of #TheKeralaStory, first let me congratulate you for the brave effort. At the same time, let me also give you the bad news that from here on, your lives will not be the same. You will receive unimaginable hate.
“Your will feel suffocated. Many times you may get confused and demoralised. But remember, God tests the shoulders on which he can put the responsibility of becoming the change agents,” he tweeted.
“If cinema is a medium to follow your course of Dharma, never stop. Let the community of Indic storytellers grow. Help new, young talented, Indic storytellers. Let this Indic Renaissance become the guiding light of a New Bharat. And whenever you feel nobody is understanding you, remember Gurudev’s lines: Ekla Chalo Re. Best. Always. With love, VRA,” concluded his post.
‘The Kerala Story’ has been written and directed by Sudipto Sen and stars Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Siddhi Idnani and Sonia Balani.
It got into controversy after the trailer of the film stated that 32,000 girls from the state went missing and later joined the terrorist group, IS.
I grew up listening to great filmmakers and cinema critics that the only purpose of art is to provoke people into questioning their own beliefs and biases.
I also grew up listening that cinema reflects the reality of a society.
I…
— Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) May 6, 2023
Hyderabad: Popular Telugu film actor Naga Chaitanya recently expressed his thoughts on being friends with an ex-partner. Chaitanya played a game of truth or dare with YouTuber Irfan and was asked about his experience with rejection in a relationship in a video interview. Chaitanya expressed his displeasure with Irfan’s story about his ex-girlfriend suggesting that they remain friends after the breakup, saying, “We can be good friends. It is that part that irritates me the most. I didn’t ask for friendship.”
Chaitanya’s comments piqued the interest of many social media users, with many agreeing with him and expressing sympathy for his annoyance. The actor is known for his candid and honest views on personal matters. He was previously married to actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu and is now rumoured to be dating actress Sobhita Dhulipala.
Sam and Chay, who were once one of the most adored celebrity pairs in the South Indian film industry, got married in 2017. They called it quits in 2021.
Naga Chaitanya also discussed his biggest regret in life in the same interview, saying that he didn’t have any specific regrets but that he saw every experience as a learning opportunity. He did say, however, that there were a few films he regretted doing and that he would not do that type of work again.
On the work front, Custody, Chaitanya’s upcoming film directed by Venkat Prabhu, stars him as a police constable alongside Krithi Shetty, Priyamani, Sampath Raj, and Arvind Swami in pivotal roles. The bilingual Tamil-Telugu film, which is set to release on May 12, has already sparked a lot of interest among fans.
Attacks on Muslims continued well into the month of March in India, as violence against minorities went on unabated. March was already stained with more lynchings and the rise of cow vigilantes like Monu Manesar, Puneeth Karehalli and Radha Semwal Dhoni to name a few.
As Ramzan began in March, it also also welcomed Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanthi, both Hindu festivals sprinkled with hate speech and objection over namaz offerings in different places. The violence, which took place last year as well, created an atmosphere of anarchy and unrest amongst the minority community in non-BJP ruled states such as Bihar and West Bengal.
This article is a part of Siasat.com’s hate-crime tracker which chronicles atrocities against Muslims in India. The tracker chronicles everything from verbal discrimination, assault and lynching/murder each month of the year, and a report will be published.
March 2: A Mazar (Muslim shrine) was demolished by right-wing worker Radha Semwal Dhoni and her colleagues claiming it was built on state land. The incident happened in Uttarakhand. A video has emerged where two men are seen breaking the shrine with hammers.
Radha Semwal Dhoni with Hindutva priest Narsinghanand Saraswati
March 9: A 47-year-old Muslim man was lynched by a Hindu mob who accused him and his nephew of carrying beef. The incident happened in Rasulpur of Chhapra district, Bihar on March 7.
In a press release, police said that three people have been arrested and the hunt is on for the remaining accused. According to Maktoob Media, the deceased Naseeb Qureshi and his nephew Firoz Qureshi were returning home when they were attacked by a mob of 10-15 people.
While Qureshi was brutally beaten with sticks and sharp weapons, his nephew managed to escape. However, when he approached the police to rescue his uncle, he received callous behaviour.
March 14: Fifteen people were detained by the police on Tuesday after alleged stone pelting was reported on a mosque, an Urdu medium school and a few Muslim houses during a Hindu bike rally to unveil the statue of Sangolli Rayanna in Haveri district, Karnataka. Reports suggest that a similar rally was carried out and a few members of the Muslim community were alleged to have pelted stones.
The mob allegedly also threatened the children going to the school and pelted stones at the nearby mosque, and the nearby Urdu school was also pelted with stones.
March 15: A case was registered in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar against suspended BJP MLA from Telangana T Raja Singh after a video of his vitriolic speech targeting Muslims went viral on social media.
Suspended Telangana BJP MLA T Raja Singh
“Whoever speaks against Hindus, we will not spare them,” Singh said to a rousing saffron crowd comprising mostly youth in Rahta tehsil. “In our Hindu Rashtra you won’t even get a loudspeaker to do what you do five times a day,” he said in an apparent reference to Muslims offering prayers.
March 17: Two meat vendors were allegedly beaten up and robbed by seven men, including three Delhi Police personnel, in east Delhi’s Shahdara, a senior officer said. The incident took place in the Anand Vihar area when the two meat vendors were travelling in their car and hit a scooter. The accused, alleged to be ‘gau rakshaks’, urinated on the victims’ faces and threatened to kill them, the police said.
March 19: Members of a right-wing group, Hindu Jan Garjana Morcha, attacked a women’s public washroom, among other acts of violence in an attempt to remove the name ‘Aurangabad’ from its board.
According to reports, the incident took place during a march organised by the Sakal Hindu Ekatrikaran Samiti. The rally witnessed speeches by the editor-in-chief of Sudarshan News Suresh Chavhanke who used derogatory terms to address Muslims whilst slamming Aurangzeb.
“There is no body of Arungzeb in his grave, Marahatas have done with him what America did with Osama bin Laden,” claimed Chavhanke challenging history writers to dig up his grave.
March 25: Workers of the right-wing organisation Bajrang Dal allegedly assaulted a Muslim man who was with his Hindu female friend at a park in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. They accused him of promoting ‘Love Jihad’.
A video went viral on social media platforms wherein the Hindutva members can be seen questioning the young man while the girl pleads with them to let go.
March 27: After reports of a young Muslim man being arrested by the Vadgaon police in Maharashtra emerged, Hindutva groups took out a rally in Sawarde village demanding the accused’s family be exiled.
According to a local Marathi news Lokmat, the accused – Mohammed Momim – had put up a Whatsapp status on Mughal ruler Aurangzeb in reference to the recent name change of the city of Aurangabad.
Disturbing:-
A Muslim man in Kolhapur had kept a video as his WhatsApp status.
That video praised Aurangzeb.
The police arrested him and charged him for hurting religious sentiments.
Mohammed Momim was finally arrested by the police under Section 295 (Injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) of the Indian Penal Code.
However, matters did not end here. Hindutva organisations took out a bike rally demanding the Sarpanch of the village declare Momim’s family as outcasts. They wanted the family to leave the village for good.
March 27: A group of right-wing organisation men objected to the offering of Taraweeh prayers by some Muslims in Lajpat Nagar of Moradabad district, Uttar Pradesh.
Rashtriya Bajrang Dal men, led by its state president Rohan Saxena, barged into the house of one Zakir Hussain who was praying along with his family. Saxena alleged this was creating an atmosphere of panic nearby. A notice was issued to one Zakir Hussain and nine others.
Notice to Zakir Hussain & 9 others for reading Namaz at Hussain’s godown. Notice says they might disturb peace and asks why shouldn’t they execute bonds with Rs. 5 lakh surety. So reading namaz at private property disturbs peace,but those protesting against it are ensuring peace. pic.twitter.com/DsdzsvgKJ8
March 27: Leaders from the ruling BJP delivered an Islamophobic speech in full swing at the Digital Hindu Conclave held on March 18.
BJP leader Kapil Mishra, Kajal Shingala aka Kajal Hindusthani and far-right author Kshitij Patukale compared minorities, particularly those belonging to the Muslim community, to snakes. She called for violence, as the only way to attain Akhand Bharat besides raising the topic of ‘Love Jihad.’
Kajal Shingala said that there can never be brotherhood between Hindus and Muslims and called out those who support secularism and peace between the two communities as a “sinking ship”.
BJP leader Kapil Mishra spoke about ‘Love Jihad’. Taking the recent murder of Shraddha Walker, whose live-in partner Aftab Poonawala stored her chopped body in a refrigerator, he said, “There will come a day when we will see ads like keep fruits in the fridge, not ‘Shraddha’.”
March 28: Amid the ongoing Hindu festival of Chaitra Navratri, cow vigilantes and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders forcibly shut down meat shops in several localities.
Videos of BJP leader Ravindra Singh on rounds in the Muslim locality Mandawali Fazalpur in Vinod Nagar of West Delhi surfaced on social media. He demanded local meat traders shut down all nine days of the Hindu festival Navratri which commenced on March 22 (Pratipada Tithi) and ended on March 30 (Navami Tithi).
Chicken shops in the Muslim locality of Mandawali Fazalpur in Vinod Nagar West, Delhi, have been shut down by BJP leader Ravindra Singh in honour of Navratri. pic.twitter.com/OZcIj5cfRj
March 30: A mob of more than 500 persons allegedly attacked policemen in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad wherein a few young men belonging to the Hindu and Muslim communities clashed, police said.
The incident took place in Kiradpura which has a renowned Ram Temple. People belonging to both communities shouted slogans followed by stone pelting at each other.
#Maharashtra | A clash broke out between two groups in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar’s #Kiradpura area
Stones were pelted, some private & police vehicles were set on fire. Police used force to disperse the people and now the situation is peaceful. Police will take strict action… pic.twitter.com/vVoQK2chZk
March 30: Stones were hurled at a Ram Navami procession in the Fatehpura area of Gujarat’s Vadodara city. While some vehicles got damaged, no one was reported injured. The procession passed along its planned route under police protection.
Gujarat | Stone-pelting happened today in Vadodara during Rama Navami Shoba Yatra. As per the police, the situation is under control & peace is prevailing in the affected area. pic.twitter.com/5BGMpxivBy
March 30: The Tamil Nadu Police arrested seven persons including a juvenile for allegedly forcing a woman to remove her hijab at the Vellore Fort Complex in Tamil Nadu.
The woman had gone to the fort along with her friend when she was surrounded by the men who demanded her to remover the hijab. One of them shot the incident on a phone and uploaded it on social media platforms which went viral.
March 30: The Karnataka police lathi-charged Bajrang Dal and Hindu activists when their protest against the recital of the Quran at a historical Hindu religious fair turned violent in Beluru town.
The Hindu organisations had given a bandh call in Beluru town. The situation turned volatile when a Muslim young man raised the slogan “Quran Zindabad” amid the protest.
March 31: After Jalgaon and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Hindu and Muslim groups clashed in the minority-dominated Malvani area of the Malad west suburb during a Ram Navami procession after locals objected to loud DJ music played during the Hindu religious procession. Enraged, some of the participants allegedly indulged in pelting stones, sparking panic.
Location: Malad, Mumbai
People who were part of a Ram Navami rally stopped outside a mosque in Malwani and raised provocative slogans, causing tension in the area. Police resorted to lathicharge to bring the situation under control. pic.twitter.com/5I6GGgn0HE
The BJP government in Karnataka issued seven separate orders to drop the prosecution in 385 criminal cases, including 182 cases of hate speech, cow vigilantism, and communal violence, over a four-year period from July 2019 to April 2023, the state home department stated as a response to an RTI filed by the Indian Express.
Over 1,000 people benefited from the dismissal of communal crime charges, including a BJP MP and MLA. In the overall withdrawal procedure, 2000 accused were granted relief.
The majority of the 182 cases with communal links withdrawn pertained to the Congress government’s tenure between 2013 and 2018.
Between 2013 and 2018, the Congress government in Karnataka, led by then chief minister Siddaramaiah, ordered the dismissal of 176 cases involving nearly 1,600 activists from the Socialist Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI), the majority of which were related to violations of prohibitory orders.
45 of the 182 charges dismissed by the BJP government had to do with suspected rightwing activist violence in the Uttara Kannada area in December 2017, following the murder of a Hindu youngster, Paresh Mesta.
The CBI eventually determined that it was an accident. Courts largely followed the government’s direction to withdraw cases.
A civil judge and magistrate in Sirsi, Uttara Kannada, disregarded a government decision on February 28, 2023, to dismiss prosecution against 66 persons in the communal violence after Mesta’s case, and committed the matter for trial, according to the Indian Express report.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a petition seeking uniformity in grant of compensation to the victims of hate crime and mob lynching, and sought the response of the Centre, states and union territories.
A bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna also asked the Centre, states and UTs to inform it within four weeks by way of affidavits about the steps taken for formulating a scheme for providing relief to the families of victims of mob lynching, as directed by it in the 2018 verdict in the Tehseen Poonawala case.
It posted the matter for further hearing after eight weeks.
Advocate Javed Sheikh, appearing for petitioner ‘Indian Muslim for Progress and Reforms’ (IMPAR), said some states have framed schemes pursuant to the 2018 verdict of the apex court but there was no uniformity, while many states still do not have any such scheme.
He gave the example of Rajasthan where, in the event of an earning member getting lynched by a mob, the family gets Rs 5 lakh compensation which is reduced to Rs 2.5 lakh in case of a non-earning member.
Sheikh sought a direction to the states for formulating a uniform compensation scheme.
The plea, filed through advocate Rizwan Ahmad, said the petitioner is praying for an order or direction to bring in uniformity in the grant of compensation to the victims of hate crimes/lynching/mob lynching as the present practice of granting ex-gratia amounts by various state governments is discriminatory and contrary to the provisions of Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution of India.
It said that IMPAR also prays for an order directing the State Governments and Union Territories to provide just, fair and reasonable compensation to the victims of hate crime and mob lynching pursuant to the scheme framed by them in compliance with the direction of this court in 2018.
The petition flagged “whimsical, discriminatory and arbitrary approach” adopted by states in grant of ex-gratia to the victims of hate crime and mob lynching and the “meagre” compensation provided to them.
The plea said the compensation awarded by states in most cases depended on extraneous factors like “media coverage, political imperatives and the victim’s religious identity”.
“It is seen that the trend of awarding compensation to the victims of hate crime/mob lynching is decided based on the religious affiliation of the victims. In some cases, where the victims belong to other religious denominations, huge compensation is awarded for their losses, while in other cases where the victim belongs to a minority community, the compensation is woefully inadequate,” it claimed.
The petition said such acts were not only in violation of Article 14 (equality before law) but also a breach of Article 15 which mandates non-discrimination against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.
On June 29, 2022, it said, a man named Kanhaiya lal of Udaipur, Rajasthan was murdered in an alleged hate crime and the next day the chief minister, while visiting the victim’s family, handed over a cheque for Rs 51 Lakh. The two sons of the victim were also given government jobs, he said.
The plea said on February 17, 2023, the bodies of two people from the minority community were found in a burnt car. They were killed in a most brutal and cruel manner which shook the community to the core. On March 3, 2023, the Rajasthan chief minister, while visiting the victim’s family announced Rs 5 Lakh as compensation.
The plea referred to similar instances in Karnataka.
Raipur: Eight Bharatiya Janata Party functionaries were issued notices by Chhattisgarh police on Friday for allegedly posting content on social media that spreads hate, an official said.
They have been asked to appear before police and present factual statements related to such posts, Raipur Senior Superintendent of Police Prashant Agrawal said.
The eight comprise BJP spokesperson Sanjay Shrivastava, IT cell in charge of BJP Chhattisgarh’s Twitter handle Sunil Pillai, treasurer Nandan Jain, BJP trade cell president Kedarnath Gupta, BJP Yuva Morcha Mandal president Yogi Sahu, divisional Yuva Morcha coordinator Kamal Sharma, DD Nagar BJP Yuva Morcha member Shubhankar and party worker Bittu Panigrahi.
The Congress had, on April 12, filed a complaint with Raipur police claiming such posts were spreading hate.
As per the police notice, these posts by BJP members allegedly used derogatory terms for Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel in connection with the communal violence in Biranpur in the state’s Bemetara district.
The notice was based on a Supreme Court order dated October 21 last year directing action against hate speeches, police said.
After a fight among schoolchildren, violence rocked Biranpur village, some 100 kilometres from state capital Raipur on April 8, leading to the death of 22-year-old Bhuneshwar Sahu and injuries to three policemen.
Two houses were burnt during the statewide ‘bandh’ (shutdown) called by right-wing organisations on April 10, while the bodies of villagers Rahim Mohammad and his son Idul Mohammad were found with multiple injuries at a murum mine on April 11.
Hyderabad: Suspended BJP leader and Goshamahal MLA T Raja Singh’s verified YouTube channel ‘Shree Ram Channel Telangana’ has been terminated after the video streaming site found violations of hate speech policies.
The channel had over 5.5 lakh subscribers and over 1K videos posted by the time of the ban.
Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair tweeted about the development and said that the ban happened after the fact checker website highlighted YouTube hate speech policy violations by this YouTube channel.
Alt News wrote to YouTube after monitoring the channel for a span of three months, its researcher Kalim said.
Suspended BJP MLA T Raja’s verified YouTube channel has been terminated after @AltNews highlighted violations of hate speech policies in an email to YouTube. It had 5.5+ lakh subscribers and over 1K videos. Do let us know if you come across more such hateful YT channels. ✌️✊👊 https://t.co/Qy9SxrrCDC
Gir Somnath: A court in Gujarat’s Gir Somnath district on Tuesday reserved its order on a bail plea filed by right-wing activist Kajal Hindustani in a case of her alleged “hate speech” on Ram Navami that caused a communal clash in Una town.
The court of additional sessions judge R M Asodiya reserved its order on Hindustani’s bail plea for April 13, additional public prosecutor Moham Gohel said.
The state government opposed the bail plea citing that the activist’s speech on Ram Navami hurt the sentiments of the Muslim community and subsequently led to the communal clash, Gohel said.
Hindustani had moved sessions court on Monday after a court of additional chief judicial magistrate rejected her bail and sent her to 14-day judicial custody after her surrender on April 9.
Hindustani’s speech on Ram Navami festival on March 30 caused a communal clash in Una town on April 1.
The police lodged an FIR against her on April 2 under sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) and 295 A (deliberate or malicious act intending to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Hindustani, who identifies herself as an entrepreneur, research analyst, debater, social activist, and nationalist and a “proud Indian” on her Twitter bio and has over 92,000 followers, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and is a regular at events organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
She is known for her fiery speeches targeting the minority community, including the one she delivered at a ‘Hindu Sammelan’ organised by the VHP on the occasion of Ram Navami.
Communal tension prevailed in Una for two days, which led to clash and stone pelting between two communities on April 1.
The police have arrested 96 people and registered an FIR against 76 named persons and a mob of around 200 people under various IPC sections including 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 337 (rash or negligent act to cause hurt), 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting) and 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapons).
Pune: The need of the hour was to fight hate and the “violence of thoughts” by inculcating ‘ahimsa’ (non violence) in our minds and action, Tushar Gandhi, the great grandson of the Mahatma, said on Sunday.
He also lamented the “spread of hate” and the direction in which “New India” was moving and said Godse would be the father of such a nation rather than Gandhiji.
“The most dangerous violence is the violence of thoughts. These days, we see that people have something in their hearts but they utter something else. Thus, we need to understand the meaning of ahimsa and inculcate it in our minds,” he said.
“New India is in the making but hate is driving politics, which is a big worry. Even in Maharashtra, we see this hate being spread,” he said.
There is a need to coin a new slogan ‘nafraton Bharat chhodo’ and vanquish hate or else it will make citizens its slave, Gandhi said.
“The direction in which New India is moving, the father of the nation will not be Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi but Nathuram Godse (the Mahatma’s assassin). We should be worried that hate and grudges are creating new spaces in our minds,” he said.
Speaking at a function where he was presented with an award, Gandhi also decried the misconceptions and misinformation about the Mahatma, including a recent statement by a person in authority that the latter never had a degree.
“These days, whenever my mobile phone rings I start thinking about which question about Bapu now remains unanswered. Some 10 days ago, a question was raised over his degree. Several incomprehensible things are circulated about the Mahatma,” he said.
He also condemned the use of “vadh” by some segments of society for the killing of Gandhiji as this ancient word is employed to describe the slaying of demons and not humans.
Gandhiji respected every religion and learnt about them, Tushar Gandhi said, adding people must ensure they live with the right ideals in order to have a bright future.
Right-wing leader Kajal Hindusthani has been arrested by the Gir Somnath police in Gujarat on Sunday over her recent hate speech.
At an event organised by Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) organisations, Kajal Hindusthani made an Islamophobic hate speech targetting Muslim women by listing out the ‘benefits’ of marrying into a Hindu household.
“You (Muslim women) will be protected by Hindu men of the family. No one can force or have incest with you. You do not need to wear a burqa at 45-degree Celsius heat,” were some of her remarks.
Soon after her speech, communal tension and stone pelting between the Hindus and Muslims were reported in the area. Two people were injured and 50 people were detained by the police.
Police also booked Kajal Hindusthani over her hate speech.
Combing operations were carried out by the police during the night in Una town and seized a number of swords, rods and other such objects were from some houses.
