When the rulers take partisan attitude, the society is bound to disintegrate. In India, we witnessed this dangerous trend during the last fortnight when the Padmavati row was at its peak. State Governments such as of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan urged the Centre to ban the film as it may create law and order problems, though they are duty bound to maintain the same. Taking advantage of the soft attitude of various state governments, fringe organisations like Karni Sena jumped in to troubled water to further vitiate the atmosphere. Rewards were announced to take on the producers, directors and the actors of the said film. One organisation went so far that it threatened to chop off actress Deepika Padukone’s nose. Her only fault is that she played the role of Padmavati. On the pretext of upholding Rajput pride, famous Chittorgarh Fort was blocked. The protestors not only blocked the main entrance of the heritage site, but also fired in the air at will to make their presence felt. The police simply arrested one person for firing in the air and allowed the agitation to continue.
Strangely, all these were happening even before any one, not even the Censor Board members, who are responsible to certify the film for public viewing, watched the film. So a big question mark can be attached about the intentions of those who were objecting to the release of the film. From where did they get the information that picture has depicted the Rajputs in bad light? What were sources of the claims that certain scenes of the film are nothing but a flight of imagination? Who told the agitators that the film is nothing but a distortion of History? Questions like this will always remained unanswered because the debate over the film was deliberately hyped to please certain sections of the society. The act is clearly an attack on the plurality which is a peerless possession of every Indian. If this trend continues it will definitely robbed India of its uniqueness of unity in diversity.
To realise the fact that they are doing more harm than good to the society and the nation as well, it is appropriate to quote Rajat Sharma, the famous News Anchor. Mr. Sharma is known for his right wing tilt among the journalist fraternity. But even a person like Rajat Sharma after watching the film in a private screening commented that he didn’t find any scene of any dialogue in the film which lowered the dignity of the Rajputs. More, those who were claiming that intimate scenes in the said film between Alauddin Khalji and Padmavati is a distortion of History, will be disappointed to know that not even a single frame in the film is shared between Khalji, the Muslim invader and Padmavati, the queen of Rajputana. This has been divulged by none other than the film’s lead actress Deepika Padukone. But the protestors are not bothered about such facts. All they are interested in to create a hype that will fetch rich dividends in years to come. But spare a thought for Indian plurality. Spare a thought for the nation. A fragmented society will never make India strong. India can become powerful only by maintaining unity in diversity.
