Stopped from screening film on Kashmir, activist says Centre is 'scared'

A four-member team was denied permission by the Press Club of India on August 14, to screen their film titled "Kashmir Caged", that they had made during their visit to Kashmir after the modification of Article 370. Speaking to ETV Bharat, activist Vimalbhai, who was one of the team members, said that the central government was "scared that the truth would come out".

New Delhi/Jammu and Kashmir: Vimalbhai, one of the four-member team, who went on a visit to Kashmir to document the situation in the Valley after the modification of Article 370 by the Centre, said that they were stopped from screening their film because the central government was "scared that the truth would come out".

Speaking to ETV Bharat, Vimalbhai said, "The government doesn't want the truth to come out. If the truth comes out they will stand exposed. They would get to know that the Biryani that Ajit Doval ate during his visit to the valley was a lie."

The four-member team consisting of noted economist Jean Dreze, activist Kavita Krishnan, Maimoona Mollah and Vimalbhai were denied permission by the Press Club of India in Delhi on August 14, to screen photos and videos that they had recorded during their visit to Kashmir after the modification of Article 370.

The four-member team was supposed to present a report supported by photo and video documentation, based on their four-day visit to the Valley.

Denied permission to release the film titled "Kashmir Caged", was later released on YouTube.

Elaborating on his experience during his visit to the Valley, Vimalbhai said, "we found that the whole of Kashmir was placed under a curfew, and the curfew was not just limited to the city or urban areas, but similar was the situation in rural areas. The situation is such that the police and the military personnel can intervene at any point of time, they can snatch someone's mobile phone and check it, they can even raid someone's house at any time of the day and interrogate or detain someone they deem necessary."

On the videos being released by the Bharatiya Janta Party -led central government showing the return of normalcy in Kashmir, Vimalbhai said, "the government is broadcasting videos showing people offering Namaz in a mosque in Jammu on Door Darshan to give an impression that everything is fine. Its a part of their agenda to prove that they have done the right thing by modifying Article 370."

"The only person who is allowed to speak there is Governor Satya Pal Malik, Prakash Javadekar, who is sitting in Delhi and speaking on the situation in Kashmir and other BJP ministers, as they feel that they have achieved the long-standing agenda of the Jan Sangh and the Hindutva agenda, " added the activist.