Hyderabad: Right-wing Hindutva propaganda movie ‘Razakar: Silent Genocide of Hyderabad’ has won the best cinematography and best debut director awards at the Dadasaheb Phalke awards. The movie, produced by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Gudur Narayan Reddy, is about the Muslim militia Razakar (volunteers), which indulged in looting and violence in the days leading to the erstwhile Hyderabad state’s annexation by the Indian army on September 17, 1948.
The Razakar movie was supposed to release before the 2023 Assembly polls, but was delayed and was eventually released before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in March. The movie’s screening had BJP leaders in attendance, and has been criticised by many for its portrayal of Muslims from the erstwhile Hyderabad state.
Gudur Narayan Reddy, a long time Congressman from Bhongir district who shifted to the BJP a few years ago, produced the Razakar film. In October 2023, he had written to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) asking to allow his move to be released on November 17, 2023, stating that it was not made with the intention to create communal discord, given that many have accused him of spreading anti-Muslim hate through the film.
However, the movie did not release that year, and eventually got delayed. Apart from its communally overcharged tones, the movie is anything but accurate in terms of its portrayal of Muslims and the Nizam of Hyderabad. Narayan Reddy’s movie pushes the narrative that most or all Muslims, and the last Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan, did not want the erstwhile state of Hyderabad to unify with India after independence. However, the truth is far from it.
Razakar movie omits CPI’s role in peasant rebellion
The Razakar movie also majorly ignored the Telangana Armed Struggle (1946-51), a Communist Party of India (CPI)-led peasant rebellion against feudal landlords. It continued all the way till 1951. It was a bigger reason for the Indian army being sent. Many of the CPI’s leaders then were Muslims, and many amongst Muslims in fact also wanted the Nizam to peacefully accede to the Indian government through negotiations.
This story was originally published in siasat.com. Read the full story here.
