An Assamese television series, which a section of Hindu groups alleged of promoting ‘Love-Jihad’, has been banned by authorities in Assam keeping in mind the law and order situation.
The series ‘Begum Jaan’ was being telecast in a local television channel Rengoni.
“This was discussed at length at the district level monitoring committee that comprises 10 members. It was decided to ban it for two months because there are apprehensions that there may be a breach of peace; and prima facie, there are allegations that it hurts religious sentiments of a section of the society,” Guwahati Police commissioner MP Gupta told NDTV.
In the show, the protagonist – a Hindu girl was helped by a Muslim man in a difficult situation. But this has sparked controversy as many are trying to hint it as promoting ‘Love-Jihad’.
Hindu Jagran Manch, a body linked to the ruling BJP’s ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and other groups, have been objecting to the telecast of the serial. There have been protests in the streets and on social media demanding a complete ban.
This allegation, however, has been denied outrightly by the production house. AM Televisions, under which the serial is made, said that there is nothing of that sort in the serial where the girl and boy fall in love or marries.
“There is nothing in the serial Begum Jaan which goes against the Hindu Dharma. Without watching the serial some people have projected it as a Love Jihad and a serial where the Hindu sentiment is hurt. I request everyone to refrain from such comments, anyone wants to see, we are open to show the entire serial and if you all think anything or any scene which might hurt the sentiments of the Hindu religion is there we are ready to delete it,” Sanjive Narain, proprietor of AM Televisions, the production house had said a few weeks back.
At the latest development, Narain said that their legal team is on it. “We don’t see anything which is derogatory to any religion in this serial,” he reiterated.
Earlier, Preety Kkongana, who plays the lead role in the serial was threatened on social media forcing her to lodge FIR.
“It’s very painful when people react without watching the serial. There’s nothing like Love-Jihad in the script. There’s no communal angle in it. On the contrary, it wants to depict how humanity is much bigger than religion,” Kkongana had said during a conversation with The News Mill.
The Guwahati unit of Hindu Jagaran Manch that led the tirade against ‘Begum Jaan’ claims that they would ‘protests’ each time any serial or movie would ‘try to portray’ Hindu society in a demeaning way.
