The makers of the ‘Satluj’ film cannot hide behind the excuse of “creative freedom” while presenting disputed claims as established history, Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu said on Sunday. He said Punjab’s painful past “is not a script to be selectively edited to suit a narrative”.
In a statement, he challenged the producer and director of the ‘Satluj’ movie to place before the people of Punjab the complete documentary evidence, official records, judicial findings and authenticated data that conclusively establish the figure of 25,000 missing or illegally cremated bodies portrayed in the film.
“If this figure is based merely on an estimate or allegation, why has it been projected as an established historical fact? Why were viewers not informed that this number has not been conclusively established by any final judicial determination?” he said.
Also, Ravneet Singh, the grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, who was assassinated by Khalistani militants in Chandigarh in 1995, said the people “deserve answers for equally disturbing omissions and selective portrayal of Punjab’s darkest chapter.
“Why are the massacres of innocent Hindus, bus passengers, shopkeepers, government employees, labourers and ordinary citizens brutally killed by terrorists not depicted with the same intensity? Why has the immense sacrifice of Punjab Police personnel, security forces and countless brave citizens who fought terrorism been underplayed? Why are the thousands of families devastated by terrorist violence virtually absent from the narrative?" he asked.
“Why has one side of history been amplified while the suffering of thousands of other victims has been marginalised? Why were controversial claims presented without clearly distinguishing between allegations, estimates and officially established facts?” Ravneet Singh said that no responsible filmmaker has the right to distort history by presenting contested figures as unquestionable truth.
“Punjab paid a terrible price during the years of terrorism. Every innocent victim deserves justice and remembrance, irrespective of religion, community or ideology,” he said. He called upon the makers of ‘Satluj’ to publicly release the documentary basis for the figure of 25,000 within a reasonable time.
“If they fail to substantiate this claim with credible and verifiable evidence, they owe the people of Punjab a clear public clarification that the figure is not an officially verified count. We will examine all appropriate legal and constitutional remedies available to ensure that historical facts are not misrepresented before the nation,” he said.
He added, “Punjab’s history cannot be rewritten through selective storytelling. Truth must prevail over propaganda, facts over fiction, and evidence over emotion.”