Hyderabad, March 8: The Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in Telangana High Court, seeking direction to stop release of upcoming controversial movie ‘Razakar (Silent Genocide of Hyderabad)”.
The PIL is scheduled to come up for hearing on March 11.
APCR said Advocate Afsar Jahan, who is also Vice President of its Telangana Chapter, will represent the organization’s interests in the High Court.
APCR said the decision to file the PIL comes amidst growing concerns regarding the potentially inflammatory and divisive content of the movie, which has raised apprehensions of inciting communal disharmony among two communities.
Nadeem Khan, Secretary of APCR, has spearheaded this initiative after a unanimous decision was taken by the organization’s National Executive Committee. It highlights the organization’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding civil liberties and promoting communal harmony.
‘Razakar’, the multilingual film, produced by a BJP leader is scheduled for release on March 15 and the BJP is apparently looking to use the movie and the controversy surrounding it for communal polarization in the run up to Lok Sabha elections.
The movie claims to tell the story of the eponymous Muslim paramilitary troupe, the Razakars and an account of their brutality directed primarily towards Hindus in the erstwhile Hyderabad state. Set in the background of Hyderabad’s annexation to the Union of India, the movie explains Operation Polo, the involvement of former Deputy Prime Minister Vallabhai Patel and Hyderabad’s last Nizam Osman Ali Khan’s attempts to stay as an independent state’s ruler.
Razakars were the paramilitary volunteer force working with the Nizam government to keep Hyderabad State independent.
Hyderabad State, comprising Telangana and parts of present-day Karnataka and Maharashtra, acceded to Indian Union on September 17, 1948 after India’s military operation codenamed ‘Operation Polo’, which is popularly called ‘Police Action’.
The second trailer of the movie was released last month. The first trailer was released in September last year in the runup to Telangana Assembly elections.
The teaser was released on September 17, which marks the anniversary of erstwhile Hyderabad State’s accession to the Indian Union.
Some of the scenes depicted in the teaser drew huge criticism from various quarters. They voiced their concern that the objectionable contents, including provocative slogans and dialogues, may vitiate communal harmony in this historic city and other parts of Telangana.
The then BRS government had said that it was weighing options following concern in some quarters that the movie may vitiate communal harmony in the state.
Then minister K.T. Rama Rao had promised that the matter will be taken up with the Censor Board and Telangana police to ensure that the law and order situation in the state is not affected.
The makers of the movie claimed that it depicts the atrocities committed by Razakars on Hindu population after India’s independence.
Produced by BJP leader Gudur Narayana Reddy and directed by Yata Satyanarayana, the film is set to release in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam.
