“Films Banned due to non-certification or Hindu Rightwing disruptions mirror India’s own demolition politics”
Aman Zutshi
(with inputs from Kashmir Times news desk)
MCLEOD GANJ (Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh): A rising wave of restrictions and disruptions targeting film screenings about Palestine and other politically sensitive subjects has sparked concerns about shrinking spaces for cultural expression across India.
The pattern, emerging through official channels and unofficial pressure groups, has intensified particularly in recent months.
From Dharamsala to Udaipur
The latest in this series of incidents occurred at the 9th Udaipur Film Festival, where members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) forcibly disrupted screenings at the RNT Medical College auditorium on November 16.
The festival, which had dedicated its 2024 edition to Palestinian children and rights activist Professor GN Saibaba, faced aggressive opposition when attempting to screen Palestinian documentaries.
This disruption follows the recent decision by the prestigious Dharamsala International Film Festival to withdraw two Palestinian documentaries – “No Other Land” and “From Ground Zero” after failing to secure exemption certificates from the Information & Broadcasting Ministry.
However, no reason for dropping the films was placed in the public domain. The 13th edition of the festival was organized between November 7 and 10 in McLeodganj, which is home to the Dalai Lama and thousands of Tibetan refugees, who were forced to flee Tibet in 1959.
A Grim Bulldozing Connect
The recent ban on Palestinian documentaries at India’s film festivals takes on a deeper resonance when viewed against the backdrop of similar patterns of displacement and demolition unfolding across India.
The censorship of these films, particularly at the Dharamsala International Film Festival, reveals an uncomfortable parallel between their narratives and India’s contentious demolition politics.
“From Ground Zero” comprises of 22 short films ranging from documentary, fiction, animation, and experimental genres that strikingly describe life and resilience under ongoing Israeli violence in Gaza.
“No Other Land” made by Palestinian activist Basel Adra and Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, captures the impact of Israeli demolitions in Masafer Yatta, a cluster of Palestinian villages in the West Bank. With footage documenting the demolition of homes and forced displacement, the film explores the human cost of authoritarian actions while highlighting Adra and Abraham’s unlikely friendship and mutual activism.
Both films have gained critical acclaim at international festivals, like the Berlinale and NYFF62, for their compelling stories and realistic portrayal of the Palestinian experience under Israeli regime.
“From Ground Zero,” a powerful anthology crafted by 22 Palestinian filmmakers, and “No Other Land,” a penetrating documentary about Israeli demolitions in the West Bank, have struck a chord that extends far beyond their immediate context. Their censorship comes at a time when India witnesses its own wave of controversial demolitions, making their narratives uncomfortably relevant to local audiences.
The opening sequence of “No Other Land” captures a scene that has become painfully familiar to many Indians: bulldozers, backed by armed forces, reducing homes to rubble. When a Palestinian man in the film cries out, “They have made us strangers in our land,” the words echo across continents, finding stark parallels in India’s communities facing displacement.
These parallels became particularly poignant in February 2024, when Wakeel Hassan, celebrated as a hero for leading the dramatic rescue of 40 laborers trapped in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara tunnel, found his own home demolished by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).
His fellow rescuer, Munna Qureshi, faced the same fate. Their story – of men who risked their lives to serve their community only to find their own homes destroyed – mirrors the bitter irony captured in “No Other Land” when a Palestinian character tells Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, “We build for you, and you destroy our homes.”
In Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s administration, nicknamed “Bulldozer Baba,” has presided over numerous demolitions, primarily targeting Muslim neighbourhoods as retributive justice but often officially framed as anti-encroachment drives.
The pattern extends to Jammu and Kashmir, where authorities have seized land and rendered people homeless. A recent report published by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), a French group which works in 116 countries across the globe, has said that the land seized in Jammu and Kashmir as “illegal encroachment” is nearly equivalent to Hong Kong’s size.
India’s Supreme Court recently struck the Indian government’s “bulldozer justice” as unconstitutional and passed strict guidelines for demolitions, imposing monetary penalties on errant officials. However, the court did not provide any relief to the thousands of people whose homes have been bulldozed in the last few years.
The lack of retroactive compensation for the past victims strikes a chord with the Palestinians who have no means of getting back the properties they have lost.
As the “No Other Land” shows. The film ends on a poignant yet hard-hitting note when the filmmaker Basel Adra says, “Israel controls both colours and decides which car will enter; an entire country is built on division”.
Reasons for Dropping Palestinian Films
When contacted, the Dharamsala International Film Festival (DIFF) organisers explained that all films screening in India need a CBFC certificate and film festivals require an exemption certification from the I&B Ministry for uncertified films.
They said, the DIFF was not granted exemption for “No Other Land” and “From Ground Zero”. “Unfortunately, we were not able to screen the films. As a festival that has always highlighted important voices and stories, we share the disappointment of many,” wrote Rahul of the DIFF team in an e-mail response.
If the films were dropped in Dharamsala because of a refusal to grant exemption certificates, in Udaipur, RSS activists physically disrupted screenings.
The festival’s attempt to screen Palestinian documentaries, including “Kofia: A Revolution Through Music” and “Maloul Celebrates Its Destruction,” was met with aggressive opposition from the RSS activists, who barged inside the venue.
When the Udaipur Film Festival was forced out of its original venue, organizers created a “resistance tent” in a supporter’s backyard, accommodating 150 people, the film organisers, ‘India Palestine Solidarity Forum’ said.
Earlier, when the organisers reached out to both the local administration and the police, they refused to cooperate and resist the pressure from RSS activists.
“The Hindutva rightwing supports the genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population,” the organisers including Dr. Sunilam, Feroze Mithiborwala, Prafulla Samantara, Sandeep Pandey, Shujaat Ali Quadri, and Adv. Lara Jesani, said.
They saw it as a pattern to systemically silence and erase stories of displacement in Palestine. Many activists recognize the resonance between Palestinian films and India’s current reality.
They fear that “this is precisely why the government and the RSS is trying to stop such screenings because these films also mirror our predicament in India,” one of them said.
The festival’s forced withdrawal has raised questions about the increasing institutional barriers facing Palestinian narratives in Indian cultural spaces.
Broader Pattern of Suppression
The pattern of suppression extends beyond Palestine-related content. Recent months have seen multiple disruptions of screenings of Anand Patwardhan’s documentary “Ram Ke Naam,” including violent threats against students at K R Narayanan National Institute in Hyderabad.
In a related incident, police arrested organizers attempting to screen the same film at Cinephiles and Marley’s Joint Bistro.
Cultural activists point to a disturbing trend of pre-emptive censorship. In Delhi, police recently forced the cancellation of a two-day film screening and fundraiser event for Palestine, claiming it was an unauthorised public event.
The organisers reportedly faced interrogations from the special branch and psychological pressure following social media announcements of such events.
As these incidents multiply, highlighting systemic attempts to blank out the voices of the marginalized captured through artistic mediums, questions arise about the future of political cinema and cultural expression in India.
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