Why is India blocking film on a man who counted Punjab insurgency killings?

Indian authorities are investigating whether a movie based connected a separatist insurgency successful India’s Punjab authorities successful the 1980s and aboriginal 1990s is acceptable for viewers.

Satluj, arsenic the movie is titled aft a stream successful Punjab, claims to archer the existent communicative of Jaswant Singh Khalra, a quality rights activistic who was tortured and killed by the constabulary successful 1995 for investigating thousands of disappearances and extrajudicial killings during a brutal authorities crackdown connected the separatist movement.

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Originally titled Punjab 95, the movie was blocked by India’s censor committee for 3 years. The committee ordered a alteration successful the film’s sanction and demanded astir 130 cuts earlier allowing a theatrical release.

The filmmakers refused the cuts and alternatively released Satluj connected the ZEE5 streaming level connected July 3, lone for it to beryllium removed 48 hours aboriginal connected information grounds.

Here’s a look astatine the controversy.

What is Satluj about?

Written and directed by Honey Trehan, the 163-minute biopic is based connected the beingness – and sidesplitting – of Khalra, a slope worker successful Punjab’s metropolis of Amritsar, who begins to analyse the disappearance of a person and the friend’s mother, and ends up uncovering thousands of akin cases.

The disappearances – and presumed killings – were portion of a larger crackdown by Indian information forces to crush a separatist question that aimed to found Khalistan, an independent, sovereign authorities for Sikhs successful Punjab.

Khalra’s probe alleged that constabulary secretly cremated astir 25,000 disappeared radical without informing their families oregon maintaining authoritative records.

He continued his investigations contempt threats and warnings, until helium was picked up from extracurricular his location connected September 6, 1995. He was presumed to beryllium murdered, though his assemblage was ne'er found. He was 42.

After Khalra’s custodial murder, his wife, Paramjit, campaigned for justice, forcing the authorities to bid an probe by India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the allegations. Five constabulary officials are serving beingness successful situation for Khalra’s killing.

Villagers ticker a peculiar screening of Satluj astatine a Sikh temple astatine Tatley village, successful Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, India, July 8, 2026 [Prabhjot Gill/AP]

Diljit Dosanjh, 1 of India’s biggest movie stars, plays Khalra. The movie is narrated by the histrion playing the constabulary serviceman who led the CBI probe.

The movie has received rave reviews, with critics touting it arsenic 1 of the astir almighty films made successful India successful caller years.

What is Khalistan and what happened successful Punjab?

The Khalistan rebellion was 1 of autarkic India’s bloodiest interior conflicts during the 1980s and aboriginal 1990s.

The separatist question was rooted successful long-running governmental and spiritual grievances implicit Sikh identity, demands for greater authorities autonomy, disputes implicit sharing stream h2o with different states, and excessive national power implicit the occidental authorities bordering Pakistan.

Armed Sikh fighters carried retired bombings, targeted killings, and assassinations, arsenic the constabulary and paramilitary forces launched a sweeping cognition to ace down connected those progressive successful the movement. According to quality rights groups, the cognition included torture, extrajudicial and custodial killings, enforced disappearances, and concealed cremations.

In the summertime of 1984, Indian troops stormed the Golden Temple successful Amritsar, Sikhism’s holiest site, which was occupied by separatist fighters astatine the time. Operation Blue Star, arsenic it was called, near hundreds dead.

The Golden Temple successful Amritsar, India, connected May 30, 1985 [Ramesh Pande/Reuters]

Later that year, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was changeable dormant by her Sikh bodyguards, who held her liable for the Golden Temple bloodshed. Gandhi’s assassination triggered anti-Sikh riots, with thousands of Sikhs killed successful Punjab and the Indian capital, New Delhi, successful what Sikh groups person described arsenic a genocide.

Sikh fighters responded by sidesplitting General Arun Kumar Vaidya, the service main who had overseen the storming of the Golden Temple, successful 1986. They besides killed members of parliament, whom they believed to beryllium down the anti-Sikh unit successful the mediate 1980s.

In 1994, the fighters killed the then-Punjab governor, Surendar Nath, and authorities Chief Minister Beant Singh the adjacent year.

Violence mostly subsided successful the mid-90s, but respective Sikh groups successful India and overseas are inactive accused by India of separatist tendencies.

Who was Jaswant Singh Khalra?

The communicative of Khalra, the quality rights activist, sits successful the mediate of the unit and chaos successful Punjab successful the 1980s and the 1990s.

He investigated municipal cremation records and alleged that constabulary had secretly wide cremated astir 25,000 unidentified bodies, an extrapolation from his research, without informing families oregon conducting due ineligible procedures.

“Khalra was not a trained quality rights activist.
He was conscionable a feline who got into activism due to the fact that helium saw thing incorrect happening successful beforehand of his eyes,” Jupinderjit Singh, an writer from Punjab who has written connected the unit successful the state, told Al Jazeera.

“It was a earthy absorption against oppression, and Khalra became a awesome of that,” helium added.

“And the interaction of the movie is huge; it has shaken Punjab to the halfway and reopened wounds that the authorities thought were done,” added Singh, who saw the movie past twelvemonth successful a backstage screening.

“The police’s representation has taken a large hit.”

Why is the authorities blocking the film?

Although the Punjab rebellion was crushed, and enactment for Khalistan waned successful the state, the Indian authorities continues to presumption separatist sentiments arsenic a nationalist information issue.

It has not publically explained wherefore the movie was removed, but officials person told section media that they ordered it taken down implicit information concerns.

A study by the Press Trust of India quality bureau this week said the authorities has besides constituted a committee to analyse wherefore the film’s prohibition connected the ZEE5 streaming level should continue. According to media reports citing sources, the committee has upheld the prohibition and has concluded that the movie “goes against India’s sovereignty”.

In a statement, ZEE5 said the movie would not beryllium disposable successful India “until further notice” due to the fact that of “current developments”, without explaining oregon specifying them. It added that it would research “every due avenue done owed process” to reconstruct it.

Actor Dosanjh held a unrecorded league connected Instagram aft the movie was removed from ZEE5 and told his fans that his worst fears had travel to beryllium true.

Dosanjh appeared disillusioned by the years-long obstacles the movie had faced. But helium said helium besides recovered solace successful the information that it is present being viewed astatine assemblage screenings crossed the country, arsenic good arsenic being downloaded and wide shared.

“Nothing tin halt the movie now,” helium said.

People ticker Satluj astatine a Sikh temple astatine Tatley village, Gurdaspur, Punjab, India, July 8, 2026 [Prabhjot Gill/AP]

India’s movie manufacture has travel nether expanding unit since Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power.

Critics accidental his authorities has been patronising far-right “propaganda” films, making them tax-free, portion censoring and adjacent banning autarkic movies that situation and question the state.

How are radical viewing a banned film?

Social media users are uploading the movie onto YouTube and different platforms successful defiance of the authorities ban. One nexus goes down, different pops up wrong minutes.

Across Punjab and different parts of India, Sikh groups and activists person besides converted Sikh temple compounds and colony halls into makeshift cinemas to organise assemblage screenings of Satluj.

The assemblage screenings are escaped of charge, with locals bringing homemade buttermilk and distributing acold drinks and snacks.

At 1 specified screening successful Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, Inderpal Bains told Al Jazeera helium was capable to ticker the movie aft a agelong wait. To him, the biopic is “a fearfulness amusement of reality”.

“This movie talks astir our symptom and the acheronian tales our parents and grandparents lived done successful Punjab,” helium said. “The authorities is yet again burying the grounds of our sufferings.”

Similar screenings person besides been reported from Sikh diaspora groups successful London, New York, and Toronto.

“No procreation should hide its history, nary substance however achy it is,” Bains said. “What remains of america if we don’t cognize however we reached here?”