Hindutva groups promote the conspiracy theory known as "love jihad," which holds that Hindu women are married off and forced to convert to Islam......
Digital desk: To raise awareness against "love jihad," the Idukki Diocese of the Syro Malabar Church in Kerala exhibited The Kerala Story for students in classes 10 to 12 as part of their Sunday school training program.
Although the Central Board of Film Certification had given the movie an "A" rating, it was still shown to minors.
Hindutva groups promote the conspiracy theory known as "love jihad," which holds that Hindu women are married off and forced to convert to Islam.
Father Jins Karakkatt, the public relations officer for the Idukki Diocese, told reporters, "Girls are being trapped in love and being used for anti-national activities including terrorism," according to The Indian Express. "It is a reality. We have seen how women were trapped, converted, and later used for terror networks."
According to Karakkatt, the movie was screened because the church believed that educating students was essential.
The film, directed by Sudipto Sen, was released on May 5. It aims to explain how Keralan women were enticed by the Islamic State terrorist organization and persuaded to become Muslims. When asked for evidence, the producers changed their initial claim that 32,000 women from Kerala had joined the Islamic State, "A compilation of the true stories of three young girls," which was what the trailer said.
According to Karakkat, who spoke with The Hindu on Sunday, the diocese also gave out booklets to its students explaining the "dangers of love jihad."
This comes after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stated on Thursday that Doordarshan National, the state-run channel, ought to withdraw its plan to screen the movie because it would "exacerbate communal tensions" in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.
According to PTI, the movie aired on Doordarshan National on Friday at 8:00 p.m. Vijayan said in a social media post that the movie encouraged divisiveness.
Vijayan said, "The national news broadcaster should not become a propaganda machine of the BJP-RSS [Bharatiya Janata Party-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] combine and withdraw from screening a film that only seeks to exacerbate communal tensions ahead of the general elections."
He further added, "Kerala will remain steadfast in opposing such malicious attempts to sow hatred."
Leave A Comment