Did Netflix series ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ incorrectly use Hindu names for hijackers? The controversy explained

The Netflix series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack is all anyone is talking about currently in India. The multi-starrer series, which relives the 1999 hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight by terrorists, has got rave reviews. However, not everyone is happy with the series — least of all the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The six-episode series has run into controversy with the ruling party alleging that the makers of the show have whitewashed the crimes of Pakistani terrorists through cinema. Now the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry has reportedly summoned Netflix India’s head of content.

What’s going on? What’s the row all about? What has the BJP and other netizens accused the Netflix series of? We take a closer look and get you all the answers.

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IC-814, the series and the row

On August 29, Netflix released the six-episode series titled IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, which has been directed by Anubhav Sinha and stars Vijay Varma, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Manoj Pahwa, Arvind Swami, Anupam Tripathi, Dia Mirza, Patralekhaa, Amrita Puri, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Kumud Mishra in key roles.

The serial delves into the harrowing hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight in December 1999 that took seven days to resolve, remaining the longest seizure of an aircraft in Indian aviation history. On December 24, 1999, five masked men hijacked the aircraft — IC 814 — 40 minutes after it took off from the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, bound for New Delhi.

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While the show has received critical acclaim, it has also invited the wrath of some netizens and the BJP. But why?

Anger and outrage emerge over the names of the terrorists involved in the hijacking, with some calling it an attempt to “whitewash” the terrorists involved in the hijacking.

In the serial, the five hijackers are referred to as Chief, Doctor, Burger, Bhola, and Shankar. Herein lies the problem. Many allege that the makers deliberately chose Hindu names for the hijackers, rather than their actual names.

As per a report in the Swarajya, historian Hindol Sengupta called the film “pathetic” for what he sees as its glorification of terrorists. He added that the series doesn’t acknowledge the long-term impact of the terrorists released during the hijacking, diminishing the severity of the real-life events.

Vir Sanghvi, a veteran journalist, accused the Netflix serial of serving as propaganda for Pakistan’s spy agency, the ISI. He has slammed the filmmakers for being naive and misleading, suggesting that the series offers a whitewashed portrayal of an ISI operation while failing to accurately represent the threat posed by the hijackers.

BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya also expressed outrage at the serial. On X, he wrote: “The hijackers of IC 814 were dreaded terrorists, who acquired aliases to hide their Muslim identities. Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha legitimised their criminal intent, by furthering their non-Muslim names. Result? Decades later, people will think Hindus hijacked IC 814.”

The hijackers of IC-814 were dreaded terrorists, who acquired aliases to hide their Muslim identities. Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, legitimised their criminal intent, by furthering their non-Muslim names.

Result?

Decades later, people will think Hindus hijacked IC-814.

Left’s…

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) September 1, 2024

In the same post, he added that the show will weaken India’s security apparatus and in the long run also “shift the blame away from the religious cohort, that is responsible for all the bloodshed”.

Serial makers speak

The outrage over the names of the Kandahar hijackers in the show prompted people associated with the serial to react. Casting director Mukesh Chhabra has defended using the codenames of the hijackers, saying they had done their research.

He wrote on X: “I am reading so many tweets about the names of the hijackers. We did the proper research. They used to call each other by those names — nicknames or fake names, whatever you want to call them. And thank you, everyone, for loving the ensemble cast. A big thank you to my team, and especially to Anubhav Sinha for trusting us and giving me the freedom to explore.”

Writer Neelesh Misra, who penned a book on the Kandahar hijacking titled 173 Hours in Captivity: The Hijacking of IC814, also backed this claim. “All the hijackers assumed false names. That is how they referred to each other and how the passengers referred to them throughout the hijacking — Regards, the author of the first book on the IC-814 hijacking,” Neelesh shared on X.

“Shankar”
“Bhola”
“Burger”
“Doctor”
and the “Chief”, the brother of then-jailed Masood Azhar himself.

All the hijackers assumed false names. That is how they referred to each other and how the passengers referred to them throughout the hijacking.

— Regards, the author of the… https://t.co/fZgUZiXxPm

— Neelesh Misra (@neeleshmisra) August 31, 2024

Anubhav Sinha then shared the same post on his X account.

Truth behind the names

As the outrage grows and #BoycottIC814 becomes a trending topic on social media platforms, what is the reality behind the names of the hijackers? Were they given Hindu names in the serial?

Here’s the real story: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on January 6, 2000, stated that the terrorists involved in the Kandahar hijacking were: Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim and Shakir.

The MEA adds that to the passengers of the hijacked place these terrorists came to be known respectively as Chief, Doctor, Burger, Bhola and Shankar, the names by which the hijackers invariably addressed one another.

Hijacking of IC 814

The Netflix series directed by Anubhav Sinha recounts India’s longest hijacking dating back to 1999. The series looks at the crisis from various perspectives – from the politicians and bureaucrats in Delhi’s War Room to the terrified hostages on board.

In reality, on December 24, 1999, five terrorists hijacked the Indian Airlines plane shortly after it took off from Nepal and was heading to Delhi. The hijackers forced the Captain of the flight — Devi Sharan — to fly the plane into Pakistani airspace, where he did not receive clearance to land. The plane then landed in Amritsar, with barely 10 minutes’ worth of fuel left.

After refuelling the plane, the hijackers forced the pilot to fly the plane to Lahore, where the pilot made a desperate landing despite not getting permission from Pakistan’s ATC, which turned off all lights and navigational aids at the airport.

But at the last moment, they were given permission and it was here that they refuelled and made their way to Dubai. After being denied permission, the flight landed at the Al Minhad Air Base in the UAE. The hijackers released 27 of the 176 passengers on board, including the body of 25-year-old Rupin Katyal, who had been fatally stabbed by the hijackers.

After this, the plane finally landed in the hijackers’ original destination, Taliban-controlled Afghanistan’s Kandahar airport.

It was here that the hijackers negotiated with the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, which eventually ended on December 30 with the release of all the hostages for three terrorists — Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and Masood Azhar and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar.

The government received flak over failing to resolve the crisis earlier. It remains a day that very few can forget and has been etched into Indian aviation history.

With inputs from agencies