‘Satluj’ movie row reopens Punjab’s militancy wounds, could deepen radical undercurrents: Ashwani Kumar

The controversy over Satluj, the film pulled off an OTT platform within two days of its release over security concerns, has reopened one of Punjab’s most sensitive faultlines: the dark phase of militancy and the allegations of police excesses used to crush it.

Former Union Law Minister and a veteran of Punjab politics, Ashwani Kumar, said the apprehension that the film could inflame passions could not be dismissed in the current climate, even though he cautioned that taking it down may prove counterproductive.

“This controversy has two aspects,” Mr. Kumar told The Hindu, adding, “One is the right of people to be informed and the right of free expression of the filmmakers. But no right is an absolute right.”

He said the concerned authorities appear to have acted, taking into consideration the possibility of fuelling social and political unrest in these troubled times in the State. 

“A film revisiting the period when terrorism was at its peak and when certain strong-arm methods could have been used by the police may trigger the rise of radical sentiments. Sagacity demands that old wounds are not reopened,”he said. 

However, he added a sudden ban is likely to be counterproductive because more and more people will find ways to watch the film.

‘Punjab desperately needs peace at this time’

Mr. Kumar stressed that the danger of radicalisation in Punjab is not conjectural. “That possibility is already there,” he said, citing the electoral success of jailed MP Amritpal Singh in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. “He won an election on the basis of radical sentiments. This only proves my point that stoking religious sensitivities can lead to rise of extremism in the State once again, a consequence which must be avoided at all cost,”he noted.

That concern, Mr. Kumar said, makes the emerging friction between the Bhagwant Mann government and the Akal Takht especially fraught. With the Akal Takht having put the Chief Minister on notice over a controversial video that the government has dismissed as doctored, Mr. Kumar warned that “a frontal confrontation by any government in Punjab with the Akal Takht will be ominous”. 

“Politics in the State today has to be managed to ensure that any step that can accentuate religious animosities or invite extreme reactions from a particular community ought to be avoided. Punjab desperately needs peace at this time,” he said. Without entering the merits of whether clergy should seek to direct legislative action, Mr. Kumar underlined that “political stability is impossible in a situation of confrontation with the highest temporal authority”.

In the backdrop of Punjab Assembly elections

Mr. Kumar cautioned that radical narratives may get more pronounced closer to the Assembly elections in Punjab, slated early next year, and mainstream political parties should be vigilant towards such tendencies.

The electoral picture, in his assessment, remains fluid and fractured. He said the BJP was the only party likely to significantly improve its vote share, having expanded its footprint in rural Punjab, though not enough to form a government on its own.

The Congress, despite retaining a presence “even in the remotest areas of Punjab”, has “lost the necessary traction” because of internal power struggles and the absence of “one face that has a mass appeal across the State”. 

“The Congress is suffering from self inflicted wounds,”he said. However, he described the recent restructuring as “a fine balancing act” by the the Congress high command. 

For now, Mr. Kumar said that a divided opposition still works to Aam Admi Party’s (AAP) advantage. But that equation could change sharply if the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the BJP were to revive their alliance. “If the SAD-BJP were to come together, that combination would be the front runner, followed by AAP, in which case Congress would be in the third position,” he said, adding that “the last word on the Akali-BJP alliance has not been spoken yet”.

The politics of Punjab, he said, is now in a “melting pot”, with no party assured of an absolute majority and every formation constrained by its own weaknesses. “But eight months is a long time in politics,”he said.