Centre grounds film on Indira Gandhi’s assassins
The Union Government has done well to stay the release of the controversial Punjabi film, Kaum de Heere. The film was scheduled to hit the screens this Friday. The film, from available accounts, glorifies the assassins of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi — this is evident from its name, which means, ‘jewels of the community’, and the state was well within its rights to prohibit the dissemination of the film’s poisonous message to the public at large. As the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the Intelligence Bureau have noted, the film could have inflamed passions and disrupted law and order, especially in Punjab and Delhi. To that end, it was the Government's responsibility to protect the public from such mischievous projects. After all, even though the country in general has put the dark decades of terrorism in Punjab firmly behind it, there are sections of society that are still grappling with the trauma of those years. In many cases, the wounds have not healed completely; faultlines still mark the community's collective conscience. And there is no reason why they need to be raked up in this manner. Critics will expectedly decry the decision as an attack on the right to free speech. Yet, even they need to acknowledge that no right is absolute and that every right must be exercised with a sense of responsibility to the larger social good. Kaum De Heere fails this critical test.
Yes, the film had been cleared for restricted public release by the Central Board for Film Certification after several cuts, but, under the existing laws, the Union Government can ask the panel to reconsider its decision. Rule 32 of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules 1983, says that, “The Central Government may, if it considers necessary so to do, direct the Chairman to re-examine any film”. After re-consideration, and keeping in mind the cautionary reports of Home Ministry and the Intelligence Bureau, the Censor Board decided not to allow the film to release on Friday. Also, the board's previous decision to clear the film has come under a cloud following allegations that the board's CEO had taken a bribe to issue the certificate. The film had been repeatedly denied permission for release, but was suddenly given the green light in June.
The film's producers have expectedly argued that the film merely tells the stories of Beant Singh, Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh. While this seems fine on the face — historical and political films have in the past depicted sensitive and controversial issues — it is important to keep in mind public sentiment and a political perspective. Also, if the makers of Kaum de Heere still feel that they have been given an unfair deal, that a hyper-sensitive state has trampled on their creative freedom (as some have argued), they are free to seek legal remedy at the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal. This was the route taken by another controversial Punjabi film, Sadda Haq, which was banned by the Censor Board in 2011. It was released a year later on the tribunal's order, but even then some State Governments refused to screen the film, citing law and order concerns. The matter was taken to the Supreme Court, which eventually allowed a modified version of the film to be released nationwide.