The United States Should Not Be A Platform For Islamophobic Indian Movie “Sooryavanshi”

11/22/2021

Contact: Hena Zuberi Hena@JusticeForAll.org

For Immediate Release

(Washington D.C.) “Sooryavanshi”, an Islamophobic Indian propaganda movie has recently been released in the United States. It is the latest in a series of movies produced in India which seeks to condition the Indian audience to see Muslims and minorities as enemies of the nation. It is an othering of minorities which suits the Hindutva driven majoritarian agenda of the current government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Washington Post published an opinion piece on this movie, and the New York Times also published a review of it. The common thread in both articles is the Islamophobic content of the movie.

India is the only country which has two genocide watches issued against it by the respected organization, Genocide Watch. The Modi regime uses social media, television, and movies to propagate their majoritarian narrative. This has had real world consequences for India’s Muslims, Christians, Sikhs & Dalits. Lynchings, mob violence, and forced displacements are becoming commonplace.

Hena Zuberi, DC Director of the Human Rights organization, Justice For All, said “America should not be providing a platform for movies such as Sooryavanshi, especially since it is directly promoting the narrative of the Modi government, the primary reason for India having two genocide watches against it. American corporations must distance themselves from carrying such propaganda pieces.”.

Links:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/11/15/why-an-indian-films-success-box-office-should-worry-us-all/ 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/08/movies/sooryavanshi-review.html 

https://www.genocidewatch.com/country-pages/india