Dharam Yudh Morcha (film)

Dharam Yudh Morcha is a fact-based Punjabi film covering the era from 1947 to 1984 and highlighting the fight of the Sikh people of India to safeguard the fundamental rights of the sikh religion and linguistic minorities and to establish an equal Sikh Rights in the Region of India. The film originates from The Punjabi Suba movement to create a province for the Punjabi Sikh people and the ensuing conflicts between the proponents of the movement and the Indian Government. The movie seeks to shed light on the distortion of the peaceful Dharam Yudh Morcha protest movement into a violent protest. The story is taken from 200-plus eyewitness accounts and official documents. Information gathering and research for the movie took almost 3 years to compile and execute into a story and screenplay. The script was finished in July, 2015. The film derives its title from "Dharam Yudh Morcha" which was launched in the year 1982 to implement the Anandpur Sahib Resolution.

The film was directed by Naresh S Garg. The story was written by Karamjit Singh Batth. The film stars Raj Kakra, Karamjit Singh Batth as Satnam Singh, with Nitu Pandher, Shakku Rana, Amritpal Singh, Malkeet Rauni, Victor John, Sunny Gill, Sarabjit Purewal and Rajwinder Samrala in supporting roles. The movie was filmed on location in India, primarily in a village around Anandpur Sahib, as well as around the Golden Temple Amritsar, Village Mehta, Village Rode (Moga) and around Mohali (Punjab).

Plot

The Movie depicts the story of Satnam Singh, who is a survivor of the Blue Star Attack. His grandson finds a picture of young Satnam Singh and questions him about his past life. The story revolves around the era when Satnam Singh was a young man and he tells his grandson about being involved in the Punjabi Suba Movement and the Dharam Yudh Morcha, as well as the escalation from peaceful protest to the violence which ensued when the Indian Government, viewing the movement as secessionist, moved against the protestors with military force.

Historical events and topics featured in the film include: The River Water Dispute, Anandpur Sahib Resolution, 1978 Nirankari kand, Dharam Yudh Morcha, the arrest of over thirty thousand Sikhs in two-and-a-half months in 1982 , the Life of Sant Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindrawale and the Bluestar Attack.

Cast

Production

Development

The script was completed in July, 2015 after 3 years of extensive research into the events surrounding the Dharam Yudh Morcha movement, (from which the film takes its name), and the violent clashes between the Indian Government’s military forces and Sikh protestors, who were viewed as a secessionist threat. It is a true story, based on historical research and eyewitness accounts from more than 200 witnesses.

Filming

The movie was filmed from late 2015 to early 2016 in India. Initially, filming was done in a village around Anandpur Sahib, however, when Shiv Sena protested against the production, filming was completed around the golden temple Amritsar, Village mehta , Village Rode (Moga), around Mohali (Punjab).

Music

The music for the movie was created by Anu Manu, with the background score by Beat Minister.

Background

When India was given independence from British rule in 1947, partition was done to create two separate dominions, India and Pakistan. India essentially provided a territory for self-government for the Hindus, while Pakistan provided a territory for self-government for the Muslims. The province of Punjab ceased to exist and was divided into two provinces, East Punjab, in India, largely populated by Sikh and Hindu people, and West Punjab, in Pakistan. This partition left the Punjabi speaking Sikh population without their own homeland. As the third distinct group in Colonial India, the Sikhs wanted their own area for religious freedom, with Punjabi as the first language and their share of the river water and other resources. Led by the Akali Dal, the Punjabi population started demanding rights in the 1950s and called their protest movement Punjabi Subha Morcha.

In 1973, the Akali Dal, drafted the Anandpur Sahib Resolution to clearly outline the demands of the Punjabi Sikh population, including a region with river water access and the first language as Punjabi, the return of Chandigarh to Punjab.

In 1977, Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale rose to popularity as a missionary and became the influential religious leader of the Damdami Taksal, the most prestigious Sikh school of learning. He also became politically influential.

In 1978, 13 Sikh’s were killed during a protest in Amritsar against the Nirankari, a Sikh reformist group, who opened fire on the protestors for approaching.

Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale condemned the Nirankari leader, Gurbachan Singh, for the killings, who subsequently was tried and acquitted of all charges. Among Sikhs, there was frustration that enemies of Sikhism were immune to prosecution. When the Nirankari leader himself was later assassinated, in 1980, Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale was accused and arrested, along with many of his associates, even though he was nowhere nearby when the assassination occurred. He surrendered to police, but when no evidence could be found to link him to the crime, he was released and left the jail a hero to the Sikh population.

The Akali Dal eventually joined forces with Bhindrawale to further the cause of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution and in August 1982, they launched the Dharam Yudh Morcha to get their demands in the Anandpur Sahib Resolution met by the Indian government. Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, considered the Anandpur Sahib Resolution as a secessionist document, even though the Akali Dal did not state any intention of establishing an independent Sikh government. The Akali Dal was classified as a separatist party. As the movement gained momentum, in June 1984, Indira Gandhi ordered a military operation code-named Operation Blue Star to flush out the militants from the Harmandir Sahib and establish control over it. The Sikh community calls this Ghallugara, meaning Holocaust. These two opposing points of view are the basis of this movie, with the goal of telling the Sikh side of the story.

This movie gives inside details of Ghallughara 1984, from June 1, 1984 to June 8, 1984 and uncovers information about the attacks which were planned by the Government leading up to that period, including Operation Sundown and Operation Blue Star.

Release

The movie was released on September 16, 2016.

Critical Response

As per advance critics’ reviews of the movie, it will be one of the most controversial movies in Bollywood and has already created a buzz because of the upcoming elections in the state of Punjab.

References

External links

Video on YouTube