‘The Kashmir Files’ movie for a Keralite

When you come out of the movie hall after watching ‘The Kashmiri Files’, you are more or less drained out, frozen and flooded with a cocktail of emotions ranging from anger, frustration, helplessness and many more. Many often ask themselves why they were not fully aware of what happened in Valley and why nobody told them these things which they saw in the movie. This could be considered perhaps the largest cover-up in the history of independent India.

Born and brought up in Kerala, this is nothing new for me. Similar to Kashmir in 1990, the barbarities in 1921 were not just brushed up but also whitewashed, camouflaging the Islamic fanaticism as a “freedom struggle’. Here the victims were made villains, and the bloodthirsty murderers were honoured with Pensions and memorials.

Now the question we Keralites are supposed to ask is why the movie is relevant to us and what it teaches.

Kerala in 2022 is sitting on a time bomb that nobody wants to discuss. The Indic demography is collapsing, and we are turning into an Islamic State. In the 2011 Census, its Muslim population was around 28%, and the Hindus had around 51%. But much water had flown in Periyar during the last 12 years, and in the coming Census, the Hindus will be further down to around 48%. A similar fate is waiting for a largely peaceful, Christian population as well. From a peak of around 25% in 1980 s, they will be reduced to 16% by 2022. Meanwhile, Muslims are likely to be around 32%.

But there are more worrying aspects behind these numbers. By 2015-16, around 45% of the kids born in a year are from the Muslim community. That implies amongst kids and youth, the share of the Muslim population is much higher than the official figure of 28%.

Political parties very well understand this scenario. They know that this population cohort will capture the streets and play a decisive role in the elections. Therefore, both Left and the Congress coalition will do anything that caters to this demography’s whims and fancies.

That explains why both LDF and UDF do not get involved in matters related to the genuine grievances of the Hindu community, whether it happened in the past, or happening now or whether it happened in Kashmir. They simply don’t want to rub the wrong side of this cohort. As we have seen, there is a conspicuous silence maintained by both Left and Congress in this film.

Both LDF and UDF know that the political behaviour of the average Hindu voter is determined by his short and medium-term self-interests, which are basically around his mundane needs. He is blind and myopic towards the larger and looming issues regarding the offensive battle being played by Islamists in and around him and is unlikely to bother about the question of survival of his future generation and civilization. This is because he is neither taught about the barbaric attack that his forefathers faced in 1921 nor somebody had told him about the genocide in East Bengal or what happened in Kashmir.

An average Malayali Hindu is of the opinion that something that happened in Kashmir or Bengal should not bother him, nor he is going to be affected by it. He sincerely believes that terrorism in Kashmir is due to Pakistan and Muslims living there being ‘innocents’. So average Muslim Kashmiri can’t be blamed, and ‘religion had no role to play’ in this conflict. Similarly, Muslims in Kerala are neither seeking support from Pakistan nor will they attack and kill Hindus as they did in Kashmir.

However, he ignores the truth that Muslims as a society exhibit similar behaviour patterns towards non-Muslims, wherever they are, and the only thing that matters to them is how they are powerful vis their non-Muslim adversary. Once they started gaining power, they began to show their predatory behaviour and expansionist tendencies by subjugating their ‘enemies’. So, Kashmir is not an exception but a norm and is what has been happening all over the world in the last 1400 years.

To understand that riddle, we have to have a deeper understanding of the meaning and idea of Jihad.

Jihad is a fundamental obligation for Muslims, both in their individual and collective capacity. According to Syed Maududi, Jihad refers to every attempt towards the advancement and establishment of an Islamic power centre or Islamic State.

Therefore, the violence by Kashmiri Muslims and ‘non-violent behaviour’ of Kerala Muslims have one common denominator, i.e. establishment of the sovereignty of Islam over the land they live in and smashing off the government-controlled by non-Muslims. While the end goal is the same, only the mean differs.

Islamists are dreaming that given the demographic advantage they are gaining, they will be able to take the driving seat of the government in Kerala within a couple of decades. While they are clear about their objectives and pathways, we are clouded with confusion and communism. By 2040, they target that they will be effectively controlling the entire affairs of Kerala, including its trade, business, education, and even administration as well. They need not have to take up any weapon or shed much blood in the street (unlike in Kashmir). Their demographic advantage and social cohesion, coupled with the Dhimmi behavioural pattern exhibited by Hindus, will be enough to get their things done.

They have adopted a ‘peaceful jihad’ in Kerala, contrary to a violent armed struggle in Kashmir. However, we fail to understand this strategy because we often equate Jihad with violence and guns. Here, the Jihad is happening on and over EVM s, land, trade, business, media, levers of administration, infiltration in police forces and in every possible public space. This is much more difficult to counter as it is very difficult to see and more difficult to convince the victim (i.e. Hindus & Christians) as well. Resultant changes of such ‘Peaceful Jihad’ will be felt after a long time. By that time, such changes will be irreversible as well.

Kerala was the first state in the world to have a democratically elected Communist government in a peaceful manner. And if it goes like in this manner, Kerala would be the first territory in the history of Ummah where Islamists will come into power through a democratic, peaceful election as well.

For Hindus, it’s a battle for survival. For Islamists, it’s a Jihad for dominance. Therefore, the Movie teaches us that if we are blind to the historical patterns of Islamic behaviour, Hindus will face the same fate as what the Pandits faced in the valley.