Wayanad: “Everyone knows that it (The Kerala Story) is a propaganda movie, right?” asked a smiling T. Muhammed, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) Wayanad district secretary, sitting in the library of the mujahid mosque in the district’s Sulthan Bathery. Everyone in the library, including those taking shelter from a sudden shower Saturday, nodded.
This came barely a week after the Kerala Catholic Youth Movement (KCYM) of the Syro-Malabar Church screened the contentious movie in several dioceses. The Sudipto Sen-directed movie espousing “love jihad” and “forced conversion” theories is back in the political discourse of the state as it heads to polls Friday.
“The movie was a bait; the League doesn’t want to take that. If we campaign against it, that will create another issue,” said T. Muhammed, adding that the party always tried to give hope to the community and not create anger against other communities.
It’s the Sangh Parivar, he added, that wants to create disharmony in the state.
The movie had been screened in the dioceses after a Doordarshan screening. While Kerala’s ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and Congress-led opposition criticised such screenings, IUML and other Muslim leaders chose to turn a blind eye, saying any reaction would only unnecessarily fan the controversy.
Speaking with ThePrint, advocate Munawwar Ali, state secretary of the Muslim Students Federation (MSF), said, “The general public and the government machinery — not the community, which has been targeted — should counter moves to destroy the communal harmony in the state.”
The Kerala government, apart from condemning such moves, should also take action in cases where communal harmony is disrupted, he said. The movie, however, will likely not have much impact in northern Kerala, where different communities live closely, he added.
IUML is an ally in Kerala’s Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). As part of the alliance, the party has fielded candidates for two Lok Sabha seats in the upcoming elections — E.T. Mohammed Basheer from Malappuram and Abdussamad Samadani from Ponnani. In the 2019 elections, the party won two of UDF’s 19 seats.
The BJP, in its 2024 election campaign, has indirectly targeted the party one too many times, from attacking the UDF for not using IUML’s flag to accusing the UDF’s manifesto of having the League’s imprint. But through all of it, the IUML has been keeping its reactions mild and low-profile.
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‘Kerala is land of communal harmony’
While the screening of the movie in dioceses in Idukki, Thalassery, and Thamarassery is making headlines, residents of Wayanad’s Kalluvayal village, which has a sizeable population of Muslims, said they have read about the movie in the news but not watched it. Most hesitated to talk about the controversy.
“There is no need to over-analyse the issue. Kerala is a land of communal harmony. They are inciting these issues so that we will think differently,” said Saleem, a resident of Sulthan Bathery.
The 47-year-old, who was headed to the mosque, said the tradition of Kerala is to help neighbours, irrespective of caste or religion.
On the eve of screening the movie, Richald John, president of KCYM Thamarassery unit, told ThePrint the screening has nothing to do with the elections but is merely a bid “to resist” conversion.
John claimed there are documents to prove “love jihad” but was unwilling to reveal anything more over a phone call. ThePrint tried to reach John in person, but he responded to requests saying he was busy.
“The term ‘Love Jihad’ is not defined under extant laws. No such case of ‘Love Jihad’ has been reported by any of the central agencies. However, two cases from Kerala involving inter-faith marriages have been investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA),” Minister of State of Home Affairs Benny Behanan said, responding to a question in the Lok Sabha in 2020.
“There are two things wrong with the movie. First, it shows that Muslims force religious conversion. Second, it says the communist-led government is supporting it,” said Faisal Chooryan, a resident of the Kalluvayal village in Wayanad.
An employee at Wayanad’s Government Polytechnic College Meenangadi, Chooryan said it is sad that the movie, made for propaganda, is gaining traction in Kerala — the state that has the highest Human Development Index (HDI) in the country.
“These attempts will ruin all that,” Chooryan said.
The movie, seen as an attempt to spread hatred and communal propaganda of the Sangh Parivar, was opposed by the Kerala government and opposition.
From J.P. Nadda to Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the BJP has been continuously alleging radicalisation of the Kerala society, allegedly enabled by the ruling LDF government.
MSF’s Munawwar Ali said the IUML always takes a mild stand on controversies to stop them from further blowing up.
Ayyub, another IUML functionary, said the party is planning a campaign to spread peace in the face of propaganda, but it is yet to be finalised.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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