Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Bibi Jagir Kaur on Monday demanded an immediate ban on Grahan, a web series based on the incidents of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, which is scheduled to be released on Disney+Hotstar platform on June 24.
Speaking to the media at a press conference here, she said, “A Sikh character has been portrayed in an objectionable manner in web series ‘Grahan’ based on the 1984 Sikh genocide that took place across the country during then Congress government. In the web series, charge of the genocide is being levelled against a Sikh character which is highly condemnable and fabricated.”
Kaur said the legal notice sent by ’84 riots witness Bibi Nirpreet Kaur to Ajay G Rai, producer of the web series, and Sunil Ryan, head and president of Disney+Hotstar, is also supported by the SGPC.
She said, “Through this web series, work is being done to sprinkle salt on the wounds of Sikhs and hurt their sentiments. Such films also affect communal harmony in society. Therefore, the government should enact strict information technology (IT) rules to curb such sensitive and objectionable trends.”
She demanded inclusion of Sikh representatives in the censor board so that controversial scenes related to their faith could be removed in any film.
{{/usCountry}}She demanded inclusion of Sikh representatives in the censor board so that controversial scenes related to their faith could be removed in any film.
{{/usCountry}}Kaur warned Grahan producer and Disney+Hotstar head of legal action if any objectionable material is released.
She strongly condemned the construction of a replica model of Golden Temple in a park near Punjabi Bagh in Delhi.
‘Twitter must stop hate-filled posts against Sikhs’
The SGPC president said that about two months ago on April 7, 2021, the SGPC had written a letter to Twitter chief executive officer Jack Dorsey about the hate-filled tweets against Sikhs in India and abroad. But the SGPC has neither received any response from Twitter nor any action.
“The threats to repeat the 1984 riots on social media platforms are common which spoil the atmosphere and create resentment in the minds of Sikhs. But no action was ever taken against those who spread hatred against the Sikhs. Such hate propaganda has increased by many folds after the farm agitation was launched against three agriculture legislations passed last year and many Sikh organisations including the SGPC supported the same”, she said.
“We all know about this certain lobby and how it works in an organised and vicious way. There has never been any legal action against those indulging in hate-filled propaganda against Sikhs and the utterly communal and anti-Sikh elements multiplied their efforts after the farm agitation,” said Kaur.
She added, “Now, under the new IT rules, Twitter has lost its legal shield in India. We can lodge a police complaint against the platform for allowing hate-filled messages against Sikhs. But we do not want to single out Twitter as other social media platforms are also not doing anything to remove the hate content against Sikhs.”