'Fight communalism politically': West Bengal rights group opposes ban on Kerala Story

By A Representative
The Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), a human rights organisation based in West Bengal, opposing the ban imposed by the State government on the movie "The Kerala Story", has said that such a move will give "negative publicity to the attempts of communal polarization."
Demanding to lift the ban immediately, Masum said in a statement signed by its secretary Kirity Roy, "The attempted communalism the movie is said to be spreading must be combatted ideologically", asserting, "Banning is not a solution. We have seen in history that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was banned multiple times by the Indian government. But has that resolved the problem of communalism in India?"
Stating that chief minister Mamata Banerjee is behind the ban, MASUM said, "The movie is propagandist in nature, which creates a false narrative around the minority Muslim community in the Indian State of Kerala. It effectively propagates the Hindutva nationalist propaganda of Love Jihad, and the otherization of the minority community in the national discourse."
It noted, "From the statements of high-level BJP leaders, some of whom are even of ministry level, we can clearly understand that certain forces in the country are using this movie as a tool of polarization in the country." However, it insisted, "This sort of communal propaganda must be politically criticized."
The statement said, "As an organization which works on the issues of human rights, we are against all forms of communalism, and against all the attempts to create religious polarization in the country. But, at the same time, we strongly believe that, through government sanctions, the problem of communalism can’t be combatted."

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