NEW DELHI: West Bengal on Monday banned a movie, accusing it of stoking communal hatred and propaganda against Muslims.
The film titled “The Kerala Story” claims that 32,000 Christian and Hindu women from the mixed-faith state of Kerala converted to Islam, and some of them joined the banned Daesh group, Reuters said.
Critics have called the movie out for selling lies to foment communal polarisation and unrest.
But the film has been hailed by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Hindu hard-liners who say its portrayal was accurate.
On Monday, West Bengal, which has more population than Germany, banned the film, with chief minister Mamata Banerjee — whose party opposes Narendra Modi — criticising it as a “distorted story.”
“This ban has been put in place to avoid any violence and hatred and maintain peace in the state,” Banerjeee said in Kolkata.
The trailer for the Hindi-language movie initially claimed that thousands of women had fled their houses “to be buried in the deserts.” As controversy mounted, it was edited to state it was about three women from Kerala.
But the closing credits still said it is “dedicated to the several girls in Mangalore and Kerala who did not come back home after their conversions.”
Information and broadcast minister Anurag Thakur said the movie showed “the reality of Daesh” and that by banning it, West Bengal was effectively siding with dreaded outfits that “lure women with love.”
“Everyone must see this Hindi movie to understand the agenda of these fear outfits who operate internationally but do their recruitment in some parts of India,” Thakur said.
Indian authorities haven’t previously expressed concern that thousands of their people may have joined IS, which would alarm counter-terrorism experts.
Theatres in the southern state of Tamil Nadu have stopped the movie screenings, fearing violence and unrest.
