The banning of the film The Kerala Story: Politicization, communalization, and secularization too with ideology (2)

The banning of the film The Kerala Story: Politicization, communalization, and secularization too with Ideology (2)

The Kerala Court refused to stay the release of the film: The Kerala High Court on Friday refused to stay the release of the controversial film ‘The Kerala Story’, which hit theatres today, 05-05-2023[1]. However, the Division Bench comprising Justice N. Nagaresh and Justice Sophy Thomas, recorded the submission of the producer that the teaser of the movie, which claimed that over 32,000 women from Kerala were recruited to ISIS, will be removed from their social media accounts[2]. Refusing to stay the release of the film the Court observed that the film only saysit ‘inspired by true events’. The bench also noted that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has certified the film for public viewing. The bench also watched the trailer of the film and opined that there was nothing offensive to any particular community in it. The bench also noted that none of the petitioners has watched the film and that the producers have added a disclaimer that the film is a fictionalised version of events. “There is something called freedom of speech and expression. They have artistic freedom, we have to balance that also”, Justice Nagaresh orally stated while refusing to grant an interim order.

The Kerala Judge pointed out the contradictions: “What is there in the film that is against Islam? There is no allegation against a religion, but only against the organization ISIS”, Justice Nagaresh orally remarked during the hearing. The bench on the request of the petitioners, viewed the trailer in open court today. “This is fiction. There are no ghosts or vampires, but there are a large number of movies showing the same.” the Court remarked during the hearing. “There are many movies in which Hindu Sanyasis are shown as smugglers and rapists. No one says anything. You may have seen such movies in Hindi and Malayalam. In Kerala we are so secular. There was a movie where a pujari spit on an idol and no problem was created. Can you imagine? It is a famous award winning movie“, Justice Nagaresh orally said.

The Kerala State government defended the ban: Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave appearing for one of the petitioners stated that “the impact of film today is much greater on minds of people today than books can ever be. This may create serious public law and order problem” he submitted. “I am also a strong advocate of freedom, but if the freedom is likely to poison minds of innocent people and threaten public order, such freedom must be curtailed” Dave added. Dave urged the court to bear in mind the constitutional ideal of fraternity while examining the matter. “Fraternity in society is very important, it is part of the basic structure”. The court remarked that the film was not based on historical facts that it was merely a story, to which Dave responded, “Please see what is the purpose of the fiction. Purpose of fiction is to portray Muslim community as villains. Isolated incidents cannot be made to seem like the truth and made into a movie.”

Advocates argued the State of Kerala State has been different in the context: Sr. Adv. George Poonthottam submitted that the theme of the film to project Kerala as a centre of all terrorist activity. However, the court stated “after all this is a fictional story. Merely because some religious head is shown in bad light, it cannot be basis to ban the movie.”Advocates P A Mohammed Shah appearing for one of the petitioners stated that “Parents will think I cannot send my children to hostels in which Muslim students also stay, they will get converted. That is the impression that they are creating here.” He went on to state, “they say that only Hindu and Christian girls are being targeted and their parents should be careful. When they say it is a true story, what will be the mindset of the parents?”. 

Advocates pointed out the reality also: Advocate Kaleeswaram Rajsubmitted that this is a novel case where the Court was being called upon to consider whether hate speech could be in the form of art. Sr Adv Ravi Kadamappearing for the producer of the film stated that they have put a disclaimer and stated that it is a work of fiction. “It is only ‘inspired’ by true events. In a film, things are always dramatized. Otherwise, no one will watch it.” Justice Nagaresh asked Kadam from where did they get the figure of 32,000 women being converted. Kadam replied that the numbers were based on the information which the makers got; however, he agreed to remove the teaser, which made the claim. The film, ‘The Kerala Story’, claims to be based on true events that took place in the state of Kerala, where Hindu and Christian girls were trapped in “Love Jihad,” and converted to Islam and sent on missions to Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan on behalf of ISIS. The movie is about the journey of four college-going females from Kerala who end up joining the Islamic State. Separate pleas had thus been moved in the High Court seeking a stay on the release of the movie. 

Arguments for and against: Advocate Kaleeswaram Raj appearing on behalf of one of the petitioners, Adv. Anoop V.R., had averred that the film which claims to be based on true stories, “diminishes the dignity of the State and people as a whole, and is an insult to the State”. Advocate Rakesh K. appearing on behalf of another petitioner Thamannah Sulthana, submitted that the film intended to “malign the mindset of the general public”, and had a “serious detriment insofar as the maintenance of law and order is concerned”. A similar plea has also been moved by the State Secretariat member of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), C Syam Sundar represented by Advocates P A Mohammed Shah, Renoy Vincent, Shahir Showkath Ali, Chelson Chembarathy, Muhamed Junaid V and Shilu Sebastian. Senior Advocate Ravi Kadam, Adv Ameet Naik, Adv. Madhu Chaudhary, Adv. Sujoy Mukherjee, Adv. Nithyaesh Natraj and Adv Shilpa Soman appeared for Vipul Shah, the producer of the film. Sr Advocate Sreekumar, Adv. Thomas Anakkallunkal, Adv. Vaibhav Venkatesh and Adv. Vijay V Paul appeared for the production company, Sunshine Productions. The Court vide its Order dated May 2, 2023 had sought the response of the Centre and the Producers of the film.

18-05-2023 – The Supreme Court vacated the ban on the film: A three-judge bench presided by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud also asked the Tamil Nadu government to provide adequate security to cinema halls which screen the film, and to those who want to watch it[3]. “Prima facie, we are of the view at this stage that the prohibition which has been imposed by the state of West Bengal suffers from overbreadth,” said the bench, which included Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala[4]. Saying that the “statutory requirements for the imposition of such a prohibition have not been fulfilled on the basis of the material which has been disclosed in the counter affidavit”, the bench ordered: “Hence, the order of the Additional Secretary of the Government of West Bengal in the Department of Information and Cultural Affairs dated May 8, 2023 shall remain stayed.”

• Recording the Tamil Nadu government’s counter-affidavit, stating that there is no direct or indirect ban on the film in the state, the court said: “We direct that adequate security shall be provided for every cinema hall and requisite arrangements shall be made to ensure the safety of moviegoers who wish to see the film in any theatre in the state”.
• On the dispute over the film’s claim that 32,000 women had gone missing, the filmmakers agreed to include a disclaimer stating that “there is no authentic data to back up the suggestion that the figure of conversion is 32,000 or any other established figure” and that “the film represents a fictionalised account of the events which form the subject matter of the film”.
• Appearing for the producer, Senior Advocate Harish Salve said the film already has a disclaimer which says it is a “fictionalsed and dramatised” version of the events. He, however, agreed that the additional disclaimer “will be added… no later than by 5 pm on May 20”.
• The court said it will also hear appeals against the Madras High Court order, which had dismissed the challenge to the film, and the Kerala High Court order, which refused to grant an interim stay on its release, in the second week of July, after it reopens.
• The bench said it would watch the film. “We have given our mind prima facie. We have introduced the disclaimer. We are going to define the doctrine. We will also look at what should be permissible and what would not be permissible… certainly, there are certain aspects of this case which require us to consider… we will look at the film,” the CJI said.

© Vedaprakash

19-05-2023

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[1] Live Law, Kerala High Court Refuses To Stay “The Kerala Story” Exhibition; Producer Agrees To Remove Teaser Claiming Conversion Of 32,000 Women, Navya Benny & Sheryl Sebastian, 5 May 2023 12:47 PM.

https://www.livelaw.in/high-court/kerala-high-court/kerala-high-court-refuses-to-stay-the-kerala-story-exhibition-producer-agrees-to-remove-teaser-claiming-conversion-of-32000-women-228015

[2] https://www.livelaw.in/high-court/kerala-high-court/kerala-high-court-refuses-to-stay-the-kerala-story-exhibition-producer-agrees-to-remove-teaser-claiming-conversion-of-32000-women-228015

[3] Indian Express, Supreme Court stays West Bengal govt order banning film ‘The Kerala Story’, Written by Ananthakrishnan G , New Delhi | First published on: 18-05-2023 at 15:21 IST;  Updated: May 19, 2023 03:39 IST

[4] https://indianexpress.com/article/india/sc-order-west-bengal-ban-the-kerala-story-8616483/

Five catholic priests involved in sexploiting a married woman exploiting the confession made: Faithful ritual led to repeated raping of the woman!

Five catholic priests involved in sexploiting a married woman exploiting the confession made: Faithful ritual led to repeated raping of the woman!

Five catholic priests repeatedly rape a married woman: Nowadays, the news goes in this way, “A man, husband of a woman who was sexploited by a group of Catholic priests, complained to Church authorities that his wife has been subjected to serial sexual abuse by the clergy by exploiting her confessional secrets”. Five Kerala priests from the Malankara Orthodox Church (MOC) were suspended on 23-06-2018, Saturday, that his wife has been subjected to serial sexual abuse by the clergy by exploiting her confessional secrets after an audio clip containing serious allegations of sexual assault and abuse of clerical power did the rounds on social media[1]. Three priests belong to Niranam diocese, one Thumpamon diocese and another from the diocese of Delhi. Here, the details given by the “Times Now” TV channel in English are available[2].  Here, the stand of the husband could be heard, as he talks apologetically, as if he does not want to go to police[3]. Here, all the details of the five priests with photographs can be seen in Malayalam[4].

The details of the Catholic priests involved in sexploitation: The catholic priests involved in the sexploitation have been identified and the details are as follows:

Sl.No	Catholic priest FATHER	Address	Phone No / cell	e-mail
1	Jijo J. Abraham	Nalpanal, Kunnamthanam P.O, Thiruvalla – 689 581	04692710143
2	Job Mathew	M.G.D. Ashramam, Karunagiri, Karukachal	0481-2486384
3	Johnson V. Mathew	Mannil, Thekkemala P.O, Kozhencherry – 689 654
4	Abraham Vargese (Sony)	Puthote, Mundiypally, Kunnamthanam.	0469-2693532 94474 63013
5	Jaise K. George	C-2, D/27B, Janakpuri, New Delhi – 110 058	09717766530	frjaise@gmail.com

Audio / video clips expose the sexploitation: In the clip, a man alleges that his wife was assaulted by a priest before their marriage[5]. When she confessed to another priest, the man says, he blackmailed her into having sex with him, and threatened to tell her husband if she didn’t. He then sent a picture of himself with the woman to a third priest, who sexually assaulted her, the husband says. A spokesperson for the MOC P. C. Elias said the five priests were suspended pending an enquiry.  “We got a complaint from the woman’s husband but we have no idea about the truth of the allegations. An internal inquiry will be conducted and based on its outcome, the Church would decide whether to restore responsibilities to the priests or take further action, if the allegations are found to have substance”. The husband, who swears by his fidelity and commitment to the church, says details of a five star hotel bill in his wife’s mail box blew the lid off the scandal[6]. The man confides during the conversation that a priest had coerced her into an abusive relationship and the history of abuse predated their marriage. Overcome with guilt, the woman confessed to another priest before her child’s baptism. The confessor also turned predator and shared her pictures with another priest, who also took advantage of her plight[7].

The sex video changed hands and the woman was also sexploited accordingly: The video clip changed many hands within the clergy, the husband says during the conversation[8]. The man, seething with anger over being betrayed by the very people meant to guide him spiritually, fears more priests are involved and his wife hadn’t possibly told him the full story fearing reprisals from the influential clergy. He wants the priests to be defrocked for blackmailing a believer using her confessional secrets, considered a sacrilege. The man heard making the allegations in the audio clip hasn’t yet filed a police complaint. He says in the clip that he sent his wife back to her house, and that her family was trying to file a complaint against him. He also says elders from the community have called to dissuade him from complaining. In other words, the powerful church wants to suppress the whole sexploitation. When five Christian priests raped a married woman, they must have been arrested immediately, but the “suspension news” appears as cruel joke. It cannot be taken as an internal matter of them, as it involves serious sexploitation of married women. Ironically, the National Women Commission and other feminist organizations are keeping quiet. It is intriguing to not that the husband complained did not complaint to police. Then, what the man wants to do?

The media’s pathetic reporting: NDTV says[9], “Kerala Man Alleges Priests Sexually Abused Wife; Church Orders Probe”! It repeats the PTI news and does not comment more. It is quite intriguing, amusing and shocking to note that the way the media that claims so many things about their credibility, stand and other journalistic virtues report in this way[10]. So when Christian priests rape women, only, church is empowered to order enquiry and police are not required! News18 reported that they have been transferred! So if you want transfer, rape married woman in church! Any reader can The media has been pathetic, anesthetized and anti-women when issues like this comes, because, evidently, it is of Christians. But, in secular India, why and how the women are also are treated differently? The  Deputy Editor of the, Businessline has been reasonable, sensitive and dealt with the sensitive issue directly giving suggestion for action as follows.

Law of the land should deal with abuser priests of Kerala: The Malankara Orthodox Church, a wealthy and influential religious sect in the State, barred five of its priests from performing sacramental duties after allegations that they sexually abused a woman in Thiruvalla, a small town famous for its rich diaspora. Notwithstanding the suspension of the priests, the incident exposes the dark and ugly underbelly of religious institutions and the clergy, especially in Kerala where most factions of the church and organisations of other forms of faith command immense financial, social and political clout[11]. It is indeed shameful and shocking that the priests were able to blackmail the woman, who belonged to their own herd, by exploiting her own confession secrets and passing the information around, leading to further abuse. This and many similar incidents reported in the recent past expose the chinks in the counselling and confession apparatus of not just the church but also other religious organisations, pointing towards the need to demand more transparency in the operations of religious organisations, especially in the way complaints of abuse and exploitation are treated. Such incidents are, for sure, a blot on not just the Malankara Church but on all segments of Christian faith and casts a shadow over the way women and the vulnerable are treated.

The Church does not act like AMMA, the body of Malayalam film actors in Kerala: Already, there have been allegations that religious organisations function in alarmingly patriarchal way at a time pontiffs such as Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church, a stronger and larger force in Kerala, are calling for more gender sensitive policies and offering more avenues for women in the affairs of the church. Hence, the Malankara Orthodox Church must take appropriate action against the priests if found guilty and should let the laws of the land, not just the rules of the church, deal with them, especially given that many people including the believers have expressed fear that the maximum punishment these priests would meet could be a suspension, which will bring matters back to the normal sooner or later. The civil society must be vigilant to make sure the Church does not act like AMMA, the body of Malayalam film actors in Kerala, which shamelessly — shocking rights organisations and gender activists — welcomed back into its fold Dileep, a superstar accused of orchestrating one of the most heinous episodes of rape and abduction on an actress[12].

The husband complained in March, 2018, but, Chuch says the victim to go to police in June 2018: Speaking to TNM, the church now claims that it is not them, but the victim who should approach the police[13]. Authorities at the church told TNM, “Why should we approach the police when we have taken cognisance of the complaint and formed an internal committee to inquire?” Asked why the church has not approached the police despite receiving the complaint three months ago, a highly placed church official said that it is the woman who should approach the police[14]. “What is stopping the woman from going to the police? Why should we approach the police when we have taken cognizance of the complaint and formed an internal committee to inquire? Suppose this was a case involving a minor, we would have approached the police ourselves. But in this case, the woman is an adult and she can seek the help of police if she wants to,” the official said.

© Vedaprakash

28-06-2018

[1] India Today, 5 Kerala church priests suspended after ‘sex for silence’ audio clip,P S Gopikrishnan Unnithan , Thiruvananthapuram, June 26, 2018UPDATED: June 26, 2018 12:43 IST.

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF2B9VkX0nE

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p37qb2gIhlw

[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNEseZ5Dkh0

[5] https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/5-kerala-church-priests-suspended-after-sex-for-silence-audio-clip-1269867-2018-06-26

[6] Daiji world, ‘Sex for secret:’ Malankara Orthodox Church suspends five priests, Tue, Jun 26 2018 08:11:34 AM.

[7] http://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay.aspx?newsID=515919

[8] DECCAN CHRONICLE, 5 Kerala church priests sexually abuse, blackmail married woman; suspended, Edited by : CHARUL SINGH, Published Jun 26, 2018, 6:52 pm ISTUpdated Jun 26, 2018, 6:53 pm IST

https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/260618/5-kerala-church-priests-sexually-abuse-blackmail-woman-suspended.html

[9] NDTV, Kerala Man Alleges Priests Sexually Abused Wife; Church Orders Probe, Kerala | Press Trust of India | Updated: June 26, 2018 22:55 IST.

[10] https://www.ndtv.com/kerala-news/kerala-man-alleges-priests-sexually-abused-wife-church-orders-probe-1873679

[11] The Hindu Businessline, God’s own abusers, P. Jinoy Jose, Deputy Editor, Published on June 26, 2018.

[12] https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/columns/from-the-viewsroom/gods-own-abusers/article24264198.ece

[13] The News Minute, Kerala ‘sex for silence’ row: Church passes buck to victim, asks her to go to cops, Megha Varier, Wednesday, June 27, 2018 – 12:21

[14] https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/kerala-sex-silence-row-church-passes-buck-victim-asks-her-go-cops-83735