CPI(ML) Flays Disruption of Films on Palestine, G N Saibaba in Udaipur Film Festival by ‘RSS Goons’

New Delhi: Condemning the disruption of the three—day 9th Udaipur Film Festival by Right-wing groups allegedly affiliated with the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), which was screening films on Palestine and late professor G.N Saibaba, among others, the CPI(ML) has said “this brazen attack on democratic spaces and progressive art reflects the growing attack on freedom of speech under the fascist regime, which seeks to stifle any voices critical of exploitation and injustice.”  

 According to Times of India, the Hindutva groups forced the organisers of the film festival to relocate the event on a makeshift tent, terming the films as “promoting jihadist and Maoist ideologies”. They alos targeted a book stall at the venue.

The incident took place at Udaipur’s NLT auditorium in Rabindranath Tagore Medical College.

Rinki Parihar, a member of the film festival’s organising committee, told ToI: “The protesters threatened to have charges slapped on us under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (an anti-terror law), claiming we were engaged in anti-terror activities. They demanded we release a video apologising to the nation for what they termed as an “anti-national” act.

Parihar said they approached the Udaipur District Magistrate Arvind Poswal, who “declined to intervene”. The ToI report said it failed to get any response from the college principal or the DM on why the festival was barred from the original venue.

Blaming RSS “goons” for the incident, CPI(ML) said:

“The Udaipur Film Society organised this 3-day festival (15-17 November) as part of the Cinema of Resistance initiative to promote critical and socially important cinema. This year’s festival, dedicated to the memory of thousands of Palestinian children brutally murdered by settler-colonial Israel, and to Professor G.N. Saibaba, a tireless advocate for people’s rights, was disrupted on its second day. The RSS thugs demanded the removal of these dedications, spewed vile abuse against Palestinians and Professor Saibaba, and unlawfully halted the screening of Had Anhad.”

The party condemned the administration for failing to act against “this undemocratic and unlawful act of RSS”, despite the organisers securing all necessary permissions.

Read the full press release below:

PRESS RELEASE

The CPIML unequivocally condemns the cowardly disruption by RSS goons of the screening of Had Anhad at the Udaipur Film Festival. This brazen attack on democratic spaces and progressive art reflects the growing attack on freedom of speech under the fascist regime, which seeks to stifle any voices critical of exploitation and injustice.  

The Udaipur Film Society organised this 3-day festival (15-17 November) as part of the Cinema of Resistance initiative to promote critical and socially important cinema. This year’s festival, dedicated to the memory of thousands of Palestinian children brutally murdered by settler-colonial Israel, and to Professor G.N. Saibaba, a tireless advocate for people’s rights, was disrupted on its second day. The RSS thugs demanded the removal of these dedications, spewed vile abuse against Palestinians and Professor Saibaba, and unlawfully halted the screening of Had Anhad.  

Despite the organisers securing all necessary permissions, the administration failed to stop this undemocratic and unlawful act of RSS. Even the intervention of the District Collector proved ineffective in curbing the RSS’s hooliganism. 

The CPIML stands in firm solidarity with the Udaipur Film Society in its brave stand against fascist intimidation. The refusal of the organisers to remove their dedication to Palestinian children and Professor Saibaba is a courageous assertion of democratic rights.  

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The Sangh Parivar’s fear of progressive cinema like Had Anhad, which exposes the politics of religion through Kabir’s poetry, underscores their broader fear of a growing popular consciousness. Art, especially people-centric cinema, challenges the exploitative status quo and inspires resistance against injustice.  

We call upon all justice-loving individuals to condemn this attack on freedom of expression and stand united against the attacks on democratic spaces. CPIML reiterates its unwavering support for pro-people cinema and the Cinema of Resistance against the silencing of dissent.

Courtesy: Countercurrents.Org