CHANDIGARH: Objections have been raised over the screening of The Kashmir Files at Punjab Raj Bhawan here and also at a park in Rewari town of Haryana.
Sources said the movie was screened at the Guru Nanak Auditorium in Punjab Raj Bhawan on Sunday for a selected audience. Chandigarh Congress said the decision lowered the dignity of the governor’s office.
Chandigarh Congress President Subhash Chawla said, “The movie conveniently hides the truth that the exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits took place in 1990 during the regime of an inept non-Congress government, which was supported by the BJP. The movie only promotes the divisive agenda of the BJP and the RSS,” he said.
Another row erupted after the movie was screened on a big screen erected at a park in Rewari by a local group. Filmmaker Vivek Aghihotri issued a warning against screening the movie in the open.
“WARNING: Showing #TheKashmirFiles like this in open and free is a CRIMINAL OFFENCE. Political leaders must respect creative business and true nationalism and social service means buying tickets in a legal and peaceful manner,” he tweeted.
Congress' leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Monday sought to corner the ruling BJP over the exodus of minorities from Kashmir in 1990s, saying then Leader of Opposition Rajiv Gandhi had urged the then V P Singh government to intervene and stop the "atrocities" being committed on Kashmiri Pandits and Sikhs.
The exodus of people from Kashmir Valley began only after then Jammu and Kashmir governor Jagmohan asked them, especially Kashmiri Pandits and Sikhs, to leave, saying he would not be able to protect them, Chowdhury said in Lok Sabha while raising the issue during Zero Hour.
"Terrorists and jihadis began committing atrocities on all Pandits and Sikhs," he said, adding "The V P Singh government was then running with the support of the BJP."
At that time, Chowdhury said, the then Congress president and Leader of Opposition Rajiv Gandhi had raised his voice against the exodus of people from Kashmir, and asked the then government to stop it "anyhow", warning that people of the country would not accept it.
"At that time, Rath Yatra of Lal Krishna Advani ji began and (Narendra) Modi ji, our (current) Prime Minister, became event manger of this yatra," he charged.
Raising the issue later during Zero Hour, BJP member Sunil Kumar Singh demanded that the government start a probe into the "large scale atrocities" committed on Hindus and Sikhs in Kashmir from 1980 to 1990, especially in the period between 1984 to 1989 when Rajiv Gandhi was the prime minister, and culprits be punished.
He also demanded that a probe be conducted to ascertain on whose orders a total of 70 terrorists were released in Jammu and Kashmir in 1989.
"These terrorists played a role in genocide. Nation wants to know," he said.
The debate surrounding the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits has been reignited following the release of a film on it -- 'The Kashmir Files'.
Meanwhile, the Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora (GKPD) on Monday described the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir as "genocide" and demanded a framework for the recourse, rehabilitation and resettlement of the displaced people in the valley.
Addressing a press conference here, GKPD co-founder US-based Surinder Kaul said the recognition of the "genocide" is the first step in giving justice to the people who were forced to leave the valley.
Asked whether the GKPD supported the "Genocide Bill" circulated by the Panun Kashmir, an organisation that advocates a separate homeland for Kashmir Pandits in the valley, Kaul said, "It is a good bill. The United Nations Genocide Convention to which India is a signatory said that every country should have their genocide bills to protect their citizens."
The Panun Kashmir had circulated a bill for the recognition of the genocide of Kashmiri Pandit in December 2019.
The GKPD press conference was called amid a raging controversy surrounding 'The Kashmir Files' -- a film based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits.
GKPD leaders who claimed to have provided intellectual support to the movie said it should not be seen through the binary of Hindus-Muslim but as a movie that highlights the impact of terrorism on human lives.
Kaul stated that the movie is not "bashing" any community and it is based on facts to highlight the impact of global terrorism.
"History should be taught well. The movie does not attempt to polarise people but to inform them about the events that happened in the past," he said.
"Recognising Kashmiri Pandit genocide is the one-point mission of GKPD. It is also the first step in giving justice, then comes the complete genocide framework on how to manage the recourse, restitution, return, rehabilitation and resettlement of the Kashmiri Pandits in their homeland," Kaul said.
He claimed that the GKPD had submitted a vision document on the rehabilitation and resettlement of displaced Kashmiri Pandits.
Utpal Kaul, international coordinator of the GKPD and an earlier RSS leader from the valley, alleged that the Kashmiri Pandit community is facing extinction.
"It is imperative that the government engages with the representatives of the community so that solutions can be agreed upon," he said.
Dismissing accusations that the movie is not based on facts, Surinder Kaul claimed that the movie is 100 per cent accurate.
However, he avoided reply to a question that National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah was not the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir when the exodus took place in 1990, as shown in the film.
"We facilitated 700 testimonials from the first-hand victims of genocide and ethnic cleansing. It is based on truth and the movie was made after four years of research. Those who have to attack credibility because they are getting exposed will do it," he claimed.
The positive results from the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir will take some more time to come but a feeling of nationalism was getting developed in the restive region due to this major step by the Union government, BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said on Monday.
Speaking to reporters before stepping in to watch 'The Kashmir Files', a film on the atrocities on the Kashmiri Pandits by Pakistan-backed terrorists that led to the community's displacement there, Vijayvargiya told reporters the problems in the UT were over 70 years old.
"The Union government abrogated Article 370 and it has led to creation of a feeling of nationalism. I feel the results of this move will take some more time to come as the Kashmir problem is over 70 years old," he said.
The BJP leader claimed after Article 370 was scrapped, J-K youths have distanced themselves from stone-pelting, raising pro-Pakistan slogans and playing into the hands of the neighbouring country's spy agencies like ISI.
"The youth of Jammu-Kashmir are talking of nationalism these days and they want to associate themselves with the mainstream," he claimed.
He called the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits as a "very big social tragedy", which must be seen by "separating politics from it".
Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Monday said the recently-released film 'The Kashmir Files' was creating a situation that could cause great harm to the country's social unity and integrity.
The film, which depicts atrocities on Kashmir Pandits and their displacement due to Pakistan-backed terrorists, has become a huge box office success, though opponents have accused the makers of exhibiting communalism in the way the narrative is framed.
Speaking with journalists on the sidelines of the 23rd CPI(M) Maharashtra State Conference here, Yechury said his party was the first to speak out on the plight of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990, with its MLA raising the issue at the time in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.
He said people of Kashmir had preserved the properties of Kashmiri Pandits and, citing an RTI reply given by Srinagar police, informed that 89 Kashmiri Pandits have been killed by terrorists since 1990, while the figure was 1,635 for people of other faiths.
"The Kashmir Files is trying to create a situation that can cause great harm to the country's social unity and integrity," he said.
Asked about an anti-BJP alliance for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the senior CPI(M) leader said efforts will take place to consolidate votes against the saffron party.
"There will be coordination between regional parties so that there is less division of anti BJP votes like it was done in Tamil Nadu recently under the leadership of DMK.
Likewise it may take place in Bihar under the leadership of RJD, Samajwadi Party in UP, under (Chief Minister) Hemant Soren in Jharkhand or MVA in Maharashtra," he said.
It was necessary to isolate and defeat the BJP to save the Constitution and the economy, Yechury added.
He also attacked the probe agencies for the alleged delay in framing a complete charge sheet against the activists arrested in the Elgar Parishad Maoists Links case.
(With PTI Inputs)