The play depicted a villainous character wearing a white kurta pajama and skull cap as a terrorist attempting to abduct the sister of an Indian soldier
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – A Ramlila (performance of the Ramayana epic in a series of scenes that include song, narration, recital and dialogue) in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj on Friday has drawn consternation in many circles and significant criticism for its portrayal of Muslims as terrorists. The character of Ravana was depicted in a way that has been interpreted as an offensive portrayal of Muslims.
The villainous character in the play, reportedly organised by the Shri Krishna Bajrang Ekanki Mandal Dal Karuadeeh, wears a white kurta pyjama and skull cap and is shown as a terrorist attempting to abduct the sister of an Indian Army soldier.
This narrative escalated into scenes where the Muslim character is seen assaulting the Army personnel, branding a weapon while delivering inflammatory dialogues “I am Jihadi, I will take over this country.”
The climax shows the soldier fighting back rescuing her sister from the “terrorist” amid all-around cheers from the audience. The show concludes with the soldier standing over the dead terrorist and stating, “This country is ours, whoever jihadi will come where we will send him to their god.”
The negative stereotyping of Muslims is nothing new ever since the Narendra Modi-led BJP government took over power at the centre in 2014. Bollywood has also been churning out films always depicting Muslims badly.
Earlier, a video of a mock terror exercise in Gujarat’s Surat district showed five policemen restraining three dummy militants wearing Muslim skullcaps and long tunics.
In another video, the security forces are shown holding two alleged terrorists at the site of Gujarat’s Narmada dam. The men shout: “Take our lives if you want. Islam zindabad (long live Islam).”
Several political parties have condemned the “stereotyping of Muslims,” who make up nearly 14 percent of the country’s 1.2 billion population.