After The Kerala Story, a new Hindi film, Ajmer-92, due for release next month, allegedly targets a particular minority community. It’s reportedly based on the criminal assault on teenage girls in Ajmer more than 30 years ago. The film has stirred a hornet’s nest with the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind demanding a ban on it.
ADVERTISEMENT
“A movie made to defame the dargah Ajmer Sharif should be banned immediately. Instead of associating criminal incidents with a religion, there is a need for united action against crimes,” the Jamiat’s president, Maulana Mahmood Madani, said. “The film will create a rift in the society.”
Directed by Pushpendra Singh and starring Zarina Wahab, Sayaji Shinde, Manoj Joshi and Rajesh Sharma, among others, Ajmer-92 is said to be based on the real-life case involving more than 100 young girls blackmailed and subjected to serial sexual assault in the city of Ajmer over several years, with the crimes coming to light in 1992. Most of the victims were school-going girls, and many reportedly attempted suicide afterward. The perpetrators of the crime were a group of men led by Farooq and Naseem Chishti, who belonged to the influential family involved in the dargah’s management. In the wake of The Kerala Story and The Kashmir Files, there are misgivings in a section of society on the possible communal slant that the movie could present. The demand for a ban on it is based on this fear.
ADVERTISEMENT
Describing Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, whose dargah is in Ajmer, as a living example of Hindu-Muslim unity, and as a man who ruled over the hearts of millions of people, Mr. Madani called Chishti a messenger of peace and harmony in the country. “Those who tried to insult or disparage his pious personality have disgraced themselves,” he said.
Mr. Madani expressed disappointment over repeated attempts by Hindi filmmakers to project a particular community in a negative light. “At the moment, different ways and means are being explored to divide society on religious lines. Movies and social media are being used to link criminal activities with a particular religion which certainly will harm our shared heritage,” he said.
‘The way criminal incidents in Ajmer city are being reported is very painful. There is a need for a collective struggle against such crimes, regardless of religion and identity. In our society, an attempt is being made to remove the seriousness of the crimes by giving them a communal colour. I request the Central government to ban this movie and discourage those who are trying to divide society on communal lines,” Mr. Madani said.