Editorial: Many views Centre's spirited endorsement of a particular narrative amounts to transforming cinema into propaganda

The Kashmir Files — a self-certified, authentic account of the Pandit exodus

Narendra Modi File picture 

The Editorial Board   |   TT  |  18.03.22  : Narendra Modi’s attempts to project himself or his government as a harbinger of truth warrant cynicism. But the prime minister perseveres with his lopsided rhetoric. His reference to the controversy over the film, The Kashmir Files — a self-certified, authentic account of the Pandit exodus — is a case in point. Mr Modi alleged that an entire “ecosystem”, presumably the Bharatiya Janata Party’s political opponents as well as the liberal and intellectual fraternity, concealed the sufferings of that displaced community. But the truth of the matter is far more complex and the Centre's spirited endorsement of a particular narrative — the film has been made tax-free by BJP-ruled states — amounts to transforming cinema into propaganda. There is no doubting the Pandit exodus and its scars that are the results of an insurgency. Neither can there be any doubts about the fact that the entire political class, the BJP included, is complicit in the suffering of the Pandits. For instance, the BJP did not feel the need to hold the V.P. Singh government at the Centre accountable even as the migration unfolded. The BJP has also adopted a strategic silence on militancy’s other victims in Kashmir: they include Muslims, whose casualty numbers are disproportionately high, and ethnic minorities. Worse, in spite of its long stint in power at the Centre, Mr Modi’s government has done precious little for the rehabilitation of the Pandit community. The rehabilitation package announced by the prime minister focused on offering relief in terms of employment and housing facilities among other things but such cosmetic measures have been made redundant by the BJP’s disastrous handling of Kashmir. Kashmir’s fault lines, abetted by Mr Modi’s cynical policies, are deeper than ever, making it difficult for the resurrection of the syncretic culture necessary for the reassimilation of the Pandits in their homeland.

There is an additional challenge. Authentic Pandit voices and views on their misery remain subjugated in mainstream politics and culture. There is thus a need to reclaim the bona fide Pandit voice from ideological retellings of a crisis by political advocates. For this to happen, independent spaces of dialogue must be facilitated. Is Mr Modi amenable to that kind of autonomy of thought?