The Kerala Story is a film based on real incidents occurred in Kerala, though the director has built the narrative in a fictionalized form. It depicts the tragic experiences of three innocent girls who have been systematically trapped by the terror organization with the connivance of local support groups. The traces of love jihad, narcotic jihad, indoctrination, forceful conversion, treachery and the different shades of terror activities have been narrated in an aesthetically convincing manner in the film. The film creates fear in the minds of the viewers over the functioning of the terror groups and its impact on others. It is an aesthetic testimony against the belief propagated by the so-called left-liberal intellectuals, who share the platforms of both the LDF and UDF, in Kerala, that there are no Islamic terror activities in Kerala despite the facts of chopping the hand of Prof. Joseph, the bus arson case occurred in Kalamasserry, Kochi, the love jihad incidents in various parts of Kerala, the chopping heads of large number of dogs in Malabar and Idukki regions, the terror linked murders committed by the PFI, the confirmed IS recruitments, etc. which witness against their claim. They are not ready to admit the role of Islamic terrorism due to political reasons.
Naturally, the screening of the film created heated discussions on the so-called vibrant secular fabric of Kerala by the intellectuals of both sides. Generally, there is a belief shared by the liberal-left intellectuals that Kerala is unique place where the western mode of secularism has been flourishing in the society and the political activities in the state has been guided by the Euro-centric political secularism. But the historical facts do not justify this belief because, the Communist Party of India, which won the first election in 1957, after the formation of Kerala state, thanks to the Hindu consolidation as a repercussion of the Sabarimala arson case. Thereafter, the result of every election has been determined by the hide-and-seek game, based on the consolidation of the minority and majority religions in favor of one group or the other. The caste-ridden Kerala society has been more and more communalized based on religion in elections after elections. The gainers and the losers accused one another for communal appeasement based on the results of the election. There was a perception shared by the backward Hindu communities that the left parties are their natural friends and the congress platform has been shared by the minorities. Really, it was the religion which determined the nature of political fronts in the elections and this factor has been wilfully kept aside by the LDF and UDF in Kerala to project a false image that Kerala is a state of secular people. This is the background in which we have to evaluate the hue and cry on the screening of the film.
I recollect the controversy generated by the self-styled spokespersons of Islamic terror groups and the self-proclaimed liberal left intellectuals when my book “LOVE JIHAD IN THE QURAN” was published in 2021. As expected, the high voltage hue and cry by the pro-Islamic terror spoke persons triggered controversies which naturally, ended in the of threat on life against me. I formally sent a letter to the then state police chief mentioning the details which I could collect, fully knowing that, the police force in Kerala would do nothing because, the LDF and UDF, the major political forces of Kerala, pledge unconditional support to the Islamic terror groups in one way or the other. I thought the other way that, what is certain in life after birth is death and the uncertainty prevails only on the timing of the occurrence of death. It is my firm belief that, if, I am destined to be murdered by the terror groups then, nobody can prevent it. Interestingly, in spite of the vehement verbal attacks, nobody refuted the arguments raised in the book and nobody can do it because, all the factual premises are based on the aphorisms of the Holy Quran and the conclusions are logically derived. The film narrates concept of love jihad, which is supported and justified by the Holy Quran, has been practiced in a context.
The mindsets of the LDF and UDF forces and their allied organizations, including the cultural outfits, have not yet been changed. Hence, they have unitedly raised demands to ban the film, to arrest the director and producer, and threatened the theatre owners to abstain from screening the film. They have shown their solidarity in raising vehement protests before the theatres where the film has been screened. Incidentally, no cultural leaders and human rights activists, who have been fighting for the rights of the human beings, including the artists and film makers, to express themselves never said anything in favor of the artistic rights of the producer and director of the film. As expected, the screens in most of the theaters, including the screens operating in the Lulu Mall, which is being controlled by Mr Yusuf Ali, a philanthropist and business magnet, refused to screen the film for the reasons well known to them. This shows the simple fact that, they are concerned of the freedom and human rights of the terrorists and out-laws only. That is why, they vehemently argue for the democratic and human rights of the terror-linked persons like Abdul Nasser Madani ignoring the rights of the victims of the bomb explosion which finished the lives of innocents, as they think that the victims do not deserve freedom of speech and human rights. Fortunately, the Constitution of India never gives the right to enjoy unregulated freedom to anyone and to any institution as, unregulated freedom amounts to anarchy and nobody can enjoy freedom in anarchy because, anarchy creates only chaos.
The film narrates the ill-fate of three Kerala girls who joined in a nursing college in the Kasaragod district to take a degree in nursing. The three girls hail from three different topological as well as socio-cultural and religious contexts. A girl from Thiruvananthapuram belongs to traditional Hindu family and the second one from a Christian family of Central Travancore and the third one belongs to a communist-Hindu family from the northern part of Kerala. They accidently became the friends and room-mates in the same hostel which, is being controlled by an Islamic organization and managed by a senior Muslim lady who, projected herself as a friend, guide and philosopher to the girls and the elder lady could get the confidence of the students within a short span of time. The Islamic organization, which run the college, really was under the command of an Islamic terror group and the lady was only a religious tool in their hands of the terror group. She designed occasions for the girls to meet seemingly handsome and wilfully well-behaved men and made the girls to take the men into confidence. In due course, they started relationships without knowing that it was a trap. Later on, these girls were trapped in love and narcotics which paved the way for their total ruin. They got pregnant by the first lover and after pregnancy they were forced to marry another one. They could not complete their degree course; they were totally cut off from their family and friends and finally they were driven to lead the life of a slave who have been sexually misused by the terrorists.
The film begins with the confessions of a girl who escaped from the trap and reached in the UN incarceration center and narrates how she and her friends were trapped in love, narcotics and religious conversions. She narrates how the terror groups systematically indoctrinated the innocent girls to make them to reject their traditional religious faiths and to embrace Islam. The agents of the terror groups made them to believe that the Allah, the God of Islam alone can help human beings directly and all other gods such as, Ram of Hindu faith and Jesus of Christianity are incapable to do any good things to human beings because, those gods are weak. Hence, they illustrated that Ram could not save his wife when the Ravana captured her and Jesus cold not save himself when he was crucified, to support their arguments. Moreover, they made the victims to listen to the lectures of Zakir Naik, an absconding terror apologist and fanatic Islamic preacher, to concretize their faith in the embraced religion. Incidentally, I do remember the justification and support provided by Abdul Samad Samadani and E T Mohammed Basheer to Zakir Naik when, he was criticized by the Government of India.
I think, the film is an eye-opener to all concerned. The hunter and the hunted have to learn many things from the film. The hunter must acknowledge the fact that, indoctrination, forceful conversion and the practice of different forms of jihad would never go unquestioned. The victims must realize that they should keep more vigilance in dealing with those who keeps ulterior motives to trap innocents. It gives the lesson to the parents that sufficient training must be given to their children to guard themselves. The producers of fake narratives of secularism should understand that, the changing mood of society, which gives sufficient waning that the secular credential of a society can be protected as joint action. The film narrates the idea that the tolerance does not mean that, the endless endurance of the persecution of one community by the other. It needs mutual respect. Religious activity does not mean the comparison one religion with the other and claiming that one religion is superior to the rest. Such a concept leads to religious conversions and the act of religious conversion is detrimental to the society. Therefore, let all see the film and evaluate.
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