The Files that worsened life for Kashmiri Pandits

A movie is the biggest catalyst to triggering a communal and social cleavage. – Mrinal Sen, Calcutta 1971

Yeh kahin na kahin haal hi ki film ka asar dikhta hai jisne maahaul mein talkhi ghol dee hai. (This seems to be the outcome of a recently released movie that has further vitiated the atmosphere.) – An old Muslim to a BBC correspondent, Oct 1, 2022

Yet another Kashmiri Pandit was shot dead by terrorists in Shopian district of Jammu & Kashmir earlier this month. There seems to be no end to this ghastly saga of terrorists nonchalantly killing innocent Pandits that has been going on since 1990 when a mass exodus of Hindus from Kashmir took place. If you are perceptive enough, however, you will be able to discern that this killing spree escalated after Vivek Agnihotri's cinematically and narratively lop-sided movie The Kashmir Files (2022). The film exacerbated the situation in the Valley, which had somehow reached a plateau if not returned to normal.

In 1967, the great British auteur Sir David Lean interviewed another legend and his distinguished contemporary Satyajit Ray for the now defunct The Marquee. Sir David asked Ray, “What's the conscientious responsibility of a filmmaker when a religio-ethnic issue is to be shown on celluloid?”

The erudite and far-sighted Ray replied, “A filmmaker's responsibility doesn't end with the depiction of his creative endeavour on the silver screen. In fact, it starts with that, especially when the subject has a religious or ethnic element. So, a director must be extremely careful regarding his ethnic (communal in the sub-continental context) manifestation on the screen because it could have far-reaching ramifications, often negative ones.”

So very prophetic! Mr Agnihotri's super-duper hit The Kashmir Files only widened the chasm between Hindus and Muslims by pandering to the pent-up emotions of the majority. It also challenged the terrorists and infiltrators. The outcome is before us: the intensified targeted elimination of Hindus in the Valley has resulted in yet another exodus of Pandits.

The question is, what good did Mr Agnihotri's biased cinematic narrative serve, other than to create more bad blood? In that famous interview with David Lean, Ray also warned budding filmmakers of the pitfalls of visual influence and advised them to be extra careful in depicting the truth on the screen. In those days, there were no mobile phones and TV was also in its infancy in India. But today, we can relate to what Ray said 55 years ago with the ubiquitous presence of mobiles and in-your-face news channels, vituperating against the minority 24x7.

The Kashmir Files left a bad taste and angered a section of the audience to avenge what happened 32 years ago. Now state-run TV channels are working overtime to poison minds on communal lines. We all seem to have lost the sense of what is morally correct. Our conscience doesn't prick us any longer. Channels are feeding us with an exaggerated, if not totally false, Hindu-Muslim narrative and our mobiles and TV screens are disseminating that with an enhanced intensity because visual imagery is always much more impactful. We are constantly being bombarded with mosques, temples, shivling and other religious totems and symbols as if we have nothing better to do. India has already become a theocratic state and democracy has gone missing. A sense of shared responsibility towards a larger humanity has disappeared into thin air.

The moment The Kashmir Files hit the theatres, I wrote in an eveninger that this would foment more trouble and brew further (communal) disturbances. Sadly, my prediction came true. The filmmaker raked in the moolah and became a celebrity overnight, but Hindu Pandits are being targeted with a vengeance and poor Muslims continue to be vilified, with greater intensity and bitterness.

At the same time, Noam Chomsky's ‘Syndrome of Perpetual Hammering’ is working as a catalyst to widen the gulf between the communities. It is being constantly hammered into our collective psyche that a specific group did all the wrongs in the past and is still doing that. So it must be taught a lesson. When justification of something subjective is turned into an objective, it becomes a nuisance and potentially dangerous. Earlier, a smaller group of people had a subjective negativity towards Muslims. Now, it has become an objective 'reality' to many of the majority. The result is obvious. A false narrative has been drilled into our consciousness and we have begun to see ourselves as victims. Now the tables must be turned on the perceived ‘oppressors’.

A vengeful atmosphere is prevalent in the country. Terrorists are taking advantage of that, and mass killings of a particular group are happening at regular intervals. You reap what you sow. We created bitterness and that is backfiring on us. The situation is getting out of control, but we are still embroiled in the petty politics of mandir and masjid. This is indeed a harrowing scenario that may become more horrendous if not thwarted forthwith. Remember the words of Karl Marx: A state often plunges into a shambles because of its own myopic measures.

The writer is a regular contributor to the world’s premier publications and portals in several languages

Published on: Sunday, October 30, 2022, 01:07 PM IST