The Kerala Story controversies, fight between communities in Maharashtra
Over 100 people have been charged in the western Indian area of Maharashtra after one person dead and eight others were hurt in communal conflicts initiated by The Kerala Story.
Reports say the clash occurred in Akola city and was started by a social media post on a controversial movie, The Kerala Story.
Communal conflicts in Maharashtra Provoked by The Kerala Story:
Authorities snapped internet services and set a curfew to get the problem under control. A lady constable was among those who were hurt in the conflict.
Cops said that violence started on Saturday when community members assembled outside a police station in Akola to oppose a social media post about the movie.
News says it was a screenshot of a conversation between two citizens posted on Instagram by one of them. A police officer told The Indian Express newspaper that several messages in the chat “hurt the religious feelings” of the other person but did not provide any details.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s office pleaded for a truce and ordered the state police o take decisive and firm action against those who participated in the clash.
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The Kerala Story, launched in cinemas last week, had sparked dispute months before its release. The movie shows a fictional story of three Indian females from the southern state who join the Islamic State group.
Rival politicians have criticised the movie, calling it propaganda. But the filmmakers say the film is based on years of study and actual events.
The movie has also found backing from authorities of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including a minimum of two federal ministers, and was praised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an election march this month.
The state of West Bengal has barred the movie, while two states – Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, both ruled by the BJP – have made the film tax-free.
On Sunday, conflicts over the movie broke out in a medical institute in the Jammu district. At least two pupils were hurt in the clash, reportedly initiated by a post on the film on a student WhatsApp group.
Ex-Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti condemned the federal government for the turmoil and accused it of provoking violence “through films stoking communal fires”.
Source – BBC
