E-Paper
Enraged over Israeli filmmaker’s remarks, Kashmiri Pandits protest in Jammu
The Kashmiri Pandit community also asked the BJP government to convey in “strongest possible words” its resentment to the government of Israel
Enraged over Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid’s criticism of “The Kashmir Files”, the internally displaced Kashmiri Pandits (KPs) on Tuesday staged a vociferous protest here and asked him to apologise to the entire community.
The KP community also asked the BJP government to convey in “strongest possible words” its resentment to the government of Israel.
“We are victims of genocide. We were raped and murdered. Our men were brutally butchered and someone from Israel makes an idiotic statement. It doesn’t make any sense on his part...He should apologise. We strongly condemn his statement,” said Asha Koul, one of the protesters.
She said what unfolded in 1990 was known to the world. “Our exodus is no secret to the world. It would have been better had the Israeli filmmaker assessed the ground situation and lived in Kashmir before making such a statement,” she added.
Utpal Koul, a community leader from the Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora, said, “I think this Israeli filmmaker doesn’t have any idea of Kashmir’s history and what the KP community suffered there. It seems this man was tutored.”
Another KP woman Vidisha Raina expressed regrets that I&B minister Anurag Thakur didn’t object to Lapid’s statement then and there at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
“We will not sit quietly. Though the Israel envoy has condemned the statement, the Indian government also needs to speak up,” she said.
“Why he termed it ‘vulgar’ and ‘propaganda’ needs to be understood in the right perspective. His statement is part of the eco-system in this country that has been peddling such propaganda against the community for the past 32 years,” she added.
Nadav Lapid, the jury head of the 53rd IFFI, on Monday had described “The Kashmir Files” as “propaganda” and “vulgar”.
In his speech at the closing ceremony, Lapid said he was “disturbed and shocked” to see the film being screened at the film festival. Released in theatres on March 11, “The Kashmir Files” was part of the Indian Panorama Section at IFFI.
Other members of the jury were American film producer Jinko Gotoh, Spanish documentary filmmaker Javier Angulo Barturen, French film editor Pascale Chavance and Indian film director Sudipto Sen.
Lapid lacks knowledge about Kashmir: BJP
Responding to Lapid’s remarks, Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina on Tuesday said they reflected his lack of knowledge about the ground situation in Kashmir.
”He (Lapid) should first visit the camps of displaced KPs in Jammu and Kashmir. Such remarks are only expected from a person who does not know the ground situation and how people, irrespective of their religion, have suffered because of terrorism,” Raina told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.
He said the film “depicted the true picture of the plight of the victims of terrorism”.
“Most likely, he (Lapid) made such a statement on the instigation of someone. He should visit the victims of terror — both Pandits and Muslims — and feel their pain,” Raina said, welcoming the statement of Naor Gilon, Israel’s envoy to India.
Slamming Lapid, Gilon on Tuesday said he should be “ashamed” as he had “abused in the worst way” the Indian invitation to him to chair the panel of judges at the film festival.
Embarrassment for govt: Congress
Meanwhile, the Congress attacked the central government over Lapid’s criticism of “The Kashmir Files”, calling it an “embarrassment” and saying that hate eventually gets called out.
“PM Modi, his govt, BJP, the RW ecosystem feverishly promoted ‘The Kashmir Files’,a movie rejected by International Film Festival of India. Jury head Nadav Lapid called it ‘propaganda, vulgar movie - inappropriate for the film festival’,” Congress spokesperson and head of the party’s social media department Supriya Srinate said in a tweet.
In a tweet on Tuesday, another Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed said, “..In a bid to polarise the people of India, the BJP govt went all out in promoting the movie, resulting in a huge embarrassment for India on the international scale!”
(With Agency inputs)
