The Kerala Story: Will Kerala Become Terrorist State?
There have been sharp reactions following the release of the trailer of 'The Kerala Story.' Watch our full video for all the details.
The Kerala Story, produced by Vipul Shah and directed by Sudipto Sen, is slated to release on 5th May.
The film claims to be based on the story of four women who converted to Islam and travelled with their husbands to Afghanistan to join ISIS between 2016 and 2018. They are currently incarcerated in an Afghan prison. The story revolves around 3 women who get converted to Islam and join ISIS for Jihad. In The Kerala Story, it is shown that 32,000 Hindu and Christian women in the state were converted into Muslims and then sold off as sex slaves to ISIS. They were forced to become terrorists. There is a powerful dialogue in the trailer, which says that Kerala will become an Islamic State in 20 years! There have been sharp reactions following the release of the trailer of 'The Kerala Story.'
Lashing out at the upcoming movie 'The Kerala Story', Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the film appears to have been deliberately made with the aim of communal polarisation and to spread hate propaganda against the state. He said that this fake story is the product of Sangh Parivar's lie factory. Vipul Shah, the producer of the movie, said, "Nothing against the state of Kerala. Nothing derogatory said in the film. The film targets terrorists and not Muslims. Want Kerala CM to watch the movie before drawing conclusions." Sudipto Sen said, "I made the movie after months of research. No producer wanted to back the movie. My perspective changed, I was deeply moved after speaking to the victims." The trailer starts with the caption that the movie is based on true events. It shows how a well-planned approach is developed to break the faith of these girls in their gods and religion and brainwashed them into believing that Islam is the only religion for them.
These girls are then made to believe completely different ideologies and are isolated from their families, introduced to Muslim boys, and circumstances are created such that the girls fall in love with them and willingly do whatever they are made to do. It was when they finally reach the terrorist station that they realize how they were brainwashed into becoming Muslims. An Intelligence Bureau official tells OneIndia that it is important that one speaks about the problem. Both the Hindus and Christians have raised concerns over conversion by force. There is a documented case by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which shows that 24 persons had been radicalised and sent off to join the ISIS in Afghanistan.
In that case, there were several women who were forcibly converted and made to join the Islamic State. All of them are still in Afghanistan and their parents have been reaching out to the government to bring them back. However, the Indian Intelligence has a policy of not letting such persons return to India as they could prove to be more dangerous once back on Indian soil.
In the year 2018, the NIA had detained one Muhammad Riyaz who was accused of forcibly converting his wife. It was alleged that he had attempted to sell her off as a sex slave to the Islamic State. The lady went to the Kerala High Court and complained that her marriage had taken place based on fraudulent documents. The ISIS has long had India in its sights as part of its so called “Khorasan Caliphate”. The terrorist group first came on the radar of Indian intelligence agencies in 2013, after reports from Syria suggested there were some Indians in the ranks of the IS fighters, who were then making military and territorial gains there. Since then hundreds of Indians have gone to fight for the Khorasan Caliphate. In the year 2012, the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council had reported that there had been 2,668 female victims of forcible conversions between 2006 and 2009. Advocate and actor C Shukkur has said, ‘"I am offering 11 lakh rupees to those who publish information such as names and addresses of women who were converted to Islam and become members of the Islamic State by Muslim youth of Kerala. No need to produce proof for 32,000 women, just 32 is enough."
When asked why there is no exact number to such cases, another official explained that only a few come forward and report the issue. There are many who stay quiet due to social stigma. In most cases, the people prefer to remain anonymous. This is largely owing to the society and also the threat in most cases. While commenting on the movie, retired DGP from Jharkhand Nirmal Kaur on NDTV made shocking claims. She said that Muslim men have been trying to trap Hindu girls deliberately. These boys are given motorcycles, 50,000 to 1,00,000, if they get caught by the police then the Muslim Community groups supports them legally and financially for this purpose. This was a statement made a very senior police officer. Many stories of Hindu girls being brainwashed and trapped my Muslim men has come out after the release of the film.
Yet there are many leaders who are completely against this film. When people filed a complaint to stop the release of the film in the Supreme Court, the court refused to stay the release. But these stories no doubt show that there are people who are carrying out such activities and one wonders whether trapping Hindu girls through Love Jihad has now become a culture. The film has been given a ‘A’ certificate and will be releasing on 5th May 2023.
