Freedom of Expression and the Kerala Controversy over _Empuraan_, Pg 11

Malayalam film Empuraan faces backlash from Hindu nationalist groups demanding 24 cuts, especially a scene depicting the Godhra train fire.

• Accusation: The film is “equating” Gujarat riots with other communal violence, seen as an attack on majoritarian legitimacy.

Freedom of Expression Under Threat

• Rising cultural policing and moral panic around media not aligned with majoritarian ideology.

• Historical attacks on free speech include killings of Narendra Dabholkar, Gauri Lankesh, Govind Pansare, and M.M. Kalburgi.

• Supreme Court intervened to stop hate-mongering falsehoods (e.g., Kerala Story) but similar protection is being denied to Empuraan.

Majoritarian Misconceptions Around Gujarat Riots

• Demand for censorship stems from denial of culpability in 2002 Gujarat riots, where many perpetrators were convicted years later.

• Right-wing narrative seeks to present the Godhra train fire as an unprovoked Muslim mob attack, dismissing subsequent targeted riots.

Political and Social Implications

• Kerala’s secular politics is being undermined post-2021, with Hindutva slowly gaining ground in media narratives.

• Recent controversies, including The Kerala Story, point to a broader culture war targeting regional cinematic industries.

India-specific Angle

• Kerala, often hailed as a secular model, now sees communal tensions exploited through cinematic battles, revealing the deep ideological polarization in Indian society.

• Empuraan becomes a symbol of the struggle between artistic freedom and ideological censorship.

Mains Mock Question:

“Cinema in India has increasingly become a site of political contestation. Discuss the implications of cultural censorship for democratic values and freedom of expression.”