In recent days, the anti-Muslim film Kashmir Files, which promotes Islamophobic tropes and portrays Muslims negatively, has continued to make headlines.
Two boys were assaulted recently in the Indian state of Telangana after they yelled Pakistan Zindabad chants during the showing of a film about the exodus of Hindu pandits from Indian-occupied Kashmir.
Some Hindu nationalist onlookers became enraged and assaulted the two when they chanted pro-Pakistani slogans. The two allegedly managed to flee the cinema, however their identities have yet to be determined.
In the aftermath of the screening incident, a police official told an Indian news site that no one had yet filed a complaint.
Two people thrashed by crowd for chanting #PakistanZindabad during screening of #TheKashmirFiles at Natraj Theatre in #Adilabad, #Telangana.
— Siddhu Manchikanti (@SiDManchikanti) March 18, 2022
No complaint lodged. Those two are absconding. pic.twitter.com/aJLjwOimkn
The vile project was praised by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said it revealed the truth and that vested interests were trying to discredit it.
However, the 170-minute film incites communal hatred by exaggerating claims about violence against Pandits who fled their homes in 1989.
Since capturing power in one of the world’s most populous countries in 2014, the Hindu nationalist BJP has backed displaced Hindus who want to return to Indian-occupied Kashmir.
