Panaji: Barely a week after Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant said it was “time to wipe out signs of the Portuguese”, the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) on Wednesday said they would discuss the making of a film, ‘Goa Files’, on the atrocities on Hindus during the Portuguese rule in the state.
“If India has accepted ‘Kashmir Files’ and ‘The Kerala Story’, then why shouldn’t there be a Goa Files,” HJS national spokesman Ramesh Shinde said on Wednesday. Last week, while speaking at a function to mark the 350th anniversary of Shivaji’s coronation, Sawant said on the 60th anniversary of Goa’s Liberation, the state should remove all Portuguese influence and “have a fresh start”. He said the Portuguese had begun destroying the temples 350 years ago and it was stopped after Shivaji confronted them.
Ramesh Shinde said “unspeakable atrocities” were carried out by Portuguese against the Hindus during the inquisition. “Why shouldn’t everyone in Goa and in the rest of India know about the extent of the atrocities?” Shinde said they’ll discuss the making of the film, ‘Goa Files’, during the 11th edition of the annual all-India Hindu Rashtra Convention at Ramnathi in Ponda. The summit will see hundreds of heads of different Hindu organisations from India and around the world come together for the week-long convention beginning on June 16. This is afoot in Goa presently, having begun yesterday, Friday, June 16 and is slated to continue till June 22.
“The Supreme Christian leader, the Pope, has publicly apologised throughout the globe for the inhumane atrocities committed by Christians worldwide. Is there a reason why he has not apologised to the people of Goa yet?,” Shinde said.
The convention will also propose to the Goa government to establish a museum in the state on the Inquisition. “Such museums exist in Christian countries like Peru, Brazil, Spain and Portugal. Then why shouldn’t such a museum be established in Goa,” the HJS national spokesperson said. The HJS has announced that it will also assist the Goa government in its efforts to identify sites of temples destroyed during the Portuguese rule so that temples can be rebuilt at these locations, he said.
So it’s now the turn of the Christian minority to be demonised and stigmatised in the garb of a selective re-telling of our past. Its no secret that some repression, even conversions did actually take place during Portuguese rule in Goa, but shared cultures, food and a tradition also followed. Chicken café real, Sorpotel, Xacuti are only some of the food delicacies just like the Bibinca is a much flavourful Goan desert. For those who trade on hate and violence however where can be any question of any meaningful sharing?
Months ago, Sudipto Sen’s ‘The Kerala Story,’ and it’s not-so-hidden goal of advancing Islamophobia and furthering communal divides by depicting Hindu women being targeted, converted to Islam, and then recruited by ISIS to commit ‘Jihad,’ had already caused plenty of controversy raised anti-Muslim and Islamophobic pitch to high levels. The film vilified both Islam and the Muslim community, with Muslim men being demonised and an anti-Muslim propaganda was disseminated. That the focal point of the film was also based on misinformation, with unverified claims of 32,000 (Hindu) women being targeted by Muslims for conversion is a moot point. This was later corrected, only after the Courts stepped in. Much damage had already been done.
Then, the trailer for Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan’s ‘72 Hoorain’, promises to further feed in to anti-Muslim propaganda, has been released. Besides, there are several more such propaganda filled movies set to be released this year in the run up to the general elections of 2024.
The teaser for ‘Accident or Conspiracy Godhra’, directed by MK Shivaaksh and produced by BJ Purohit and Ramkumar Pal, has been released and the movie is set to be released in theatres soon. According to the teaser, the film promises to “show the truth” behind what caused the riots. The teaser calls the attack on Sabarmati Express ghastly. Was it a well-planned attack that led to the Gujarat riots or was it a result of a fit of frenzy? The film is ostensibly based on the Nanavati Commission report, which was the commission of inquiry appointed by the government of Gujarat to probe the Godhra train burning incident. The report had upheld the latterly promoted “conspiracy” theory behind the Godhra train fire.
Another such movie named Tipu, which is a biopic based on the life of Tipu Sultan- the 18th century ruler of the then Mysore kingdom, had been made a few months ago. The announcement regarding the release of Tipu came along with the country-wide release of The Kerala Story. The said announcement of the film was accompanied by a short video clip that makes multiple claims which come off as Islamophobic in nature. The video clip claims that during Tipu’s time, “8000 temples and 27 churches were destroyed.” It also adds, “Four million Hindus were forced to convert to Islam and forced to eat beef.”
Adhi Purush, another movie based on the Ramayana, is slated to be released soon. Additionally, the teaser of Randeep Hooda starrer ‘Swatantra Veer Savarkar’ is also out, which attempts to glorify the life of a political leader who was an aggressive votary of an exclusivist Hindu Nation, the Hindu Rashtra
Bollywood once boastful of its own version of syncretic India be it Manmohan Desai’s Amar Akbar Anthony or before that a 1931 film Alam Ara , or V Shantaram’s 1941 film about the duo Pandit and Mirza, or Yash Chopra’s Dhul ka Phool released in 1959 with the theme of a Muslim protagnost bringing home a Hindu orphan child and bringing him home is now slave to the diktats of a majoritarian ideology. Best then we remember the words of the song from Dhul ka Phool, “Tu Hindu Banega Na Mussalmaan Banega, Insaan ki Aulaad Hai, Insaan Banega” and hum to these consoling words.
Related:
Film as Propaganda: the months between June 2023 & May 2024
What a one-sided Kerala Story does to society – Part II
The repercussions of a propaganda like “The Kerala Story”
‘The Kerala Story’ producer agrees to remove teaser claiming conversion of 32,000 women
The Kashmir Files: Calls for Muslim genocide ring out in cinema halls, hate brews outside
Hate floods in the wake of ‘The Kashmir Files’
The Kashmir Files: Celebrities and politicians warn against propaganda-driven films
From Fauda to Ertugrul: Spreading radical agenda via entertainment