 "How ‘The Kerala Story’ is triggering a political drama in the state")
The Kerala Story has created a political storm again, a year after its release. The Sudipto Sen-directed movie is at the centre of a major controversy in Kerala ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
After state-run Doordarshan, now Catholic dioceses in Kerala are lining up to broadcast the controversial movie starring Adah Sharma. While the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) and Opposition Congress have criticised the screenings, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has defended the move.
Let’s take a closer look.
How the row began
The Kerala Story was back in the focus after the national broadcaster Doordarshan decided to air the Bollywood movie on 5 April.
The move was vehemently opposed by the CPI (M) and Congress, with both parties filing separate complaints with the Election Commission of India (ECI) against the screening.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan asked Doordarshan to stop airing the “polarising movie”. He said the film portrayed Kerala “as a hub of conversions and seeks to disparage the State”, reported The Hindu.
“The national news broadcaster should not become a propaganda machine of the BJP-RSS combine and withdraw from screening a film that only seeks to exacerbate communal tensions ahead of the general elections. Kerala will remain steadfast in opposing such malicious attempts to sow hatred,” he wrote on X on 4 April.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe decision by @DDNational to broadcast the film 'Kerala Story', which incites polarisation, is highly condemnable. The national news broadcaster should not become a propaganda machine of the BJP-RSS combine and withdraw from screening a film that only seeks to exacerbate…
— Pinarayi Vijayan (@pinarayivijayan) April 4, 2024
VD Satheesan, the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, called the state-run broadcaster’s decision “highly condemnable” and said the broadcast was a violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
However, BJP minister V Muraleedharan described the film as a“piece of art, and the expression of art is guaranteed in the Constitution”.
Poet and journalist KG Suraj moved the Kerala High Court to postpone the screening of the movie until the general elections are over. However, the court refrained from staying the broadcast.
On 5 April, several activists of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing of the CPI(M), tried to storm the premises of Doordarshan Kendram in Thiruvananthapuram, demanding it revoke its decision and apologise, as per The Hindu.
The youth Congress marched to the Doordarshan office in Thiruvananthapuram to protest against the broadcast.
The movie was telecast on 5 April at 8 pm, as per PTI.
The Kerala Story revolves around four women from Kerala who were converted to Islam and made to join the Islamic State. According to Newslaundry, the producers had claimed thousands of women in the state had fallen victim to this, but later changed the figure to “three women”.
Dioceses to show The Kerala Story
A day before Doordarshan, the Idukki diocese of Syro-Malabar Catholic Church showed the allegedly divisive movie for Class 10-12 students during its summer catechism classes despite facing a huge backlash. It also urged families to watch it on Doordarshan.
Father Jins Karakkat, Chairman of media commission of the diocese defended the decision, saying the movie was telecast to “create awareness” among children as nowadays there are “circumstances” where the teenagers are “largely falling in love and facing dangers”, as per The Week report.
The church also issued a booklet on “love” highlighting the threats of “love jihad”, reported India Today.
Reacting to the row, Kerala BJP chief K Surendran, who is challenging Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, said the people in Kerala have “wholeheartedly” welcomed the movie.
“Love jihad in Kerala has occurred many times and many districts, including Kannur. There are more than hundreds of victims and cases in Kerala,” he was quoted as saying by India Today.
Now, the Thamarassery diocese of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church has planned to screen the controversial movie on 12 April. The Kerala Catholic Youth Movement (KCYM) unit of the Thamarassery diocese has taken the initiative.
“We have made the decision to counter the attack on the Idukki diocese by vested interests. There is no point in all the protests against the screening. It is not a banned movie. Also, it is freely available in OTT platforms,” Father George Vellakkakudiyil, director of KCYM, Diocese of Thamarassery, said, as per The Hindu.
He said the movie will be aired for “educational purposes, as a form of warning to children about some of the dangers out there and to be cautious when they fall in love.”
On Tuesday (9 April), CM Vijayan said the film was “against the cultural ethos of the state”. Without naming the church, he stated, “The film is being screened with a particular agenda. Canards are being spread to insult the state. No one should fall in the trap of the RSS, which sees Communists and minorities as its enemies."
As per Indian Express, taking a cue from dioceses, pro-RSS groups on social media have also asked Hindu groups to screen the movie.
The political relevance
The BJP, which endorsed The Kerala Story during its release last May, is trying to make inroads in Kerala where minorities, including Muslims and Christians, make up 45 per cent of the population. The saffron party, which backs the claim of “love jihad”, has hailed the Church’s decision to show the film.
The BJP has been attempting to woo Christians and trying to play on their fear of “rising Islamic extremism” in Kerala, reported Indian Express.
Meanwhile, the CPI (M) is making efforts to lure Muslims away from the Congress by portraying that the Grand Old Party cannot take on the BJP in Kerala, the newspaper report added.
Kerala’s 20 Lok Sabha seats go to poll on 26 April during the second phase of elections.
With inputs from agencies
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