Bollywood Movie Sparks Unrest in Nagpur, India
Last month, an historical drama released in India depicted the 17th century life of Sambhaji Maharaj. In Chhaava, Bollywood star Vicky Kaushal plays Sambhaji, a Hindu Maratha ruler captured, tortured, and eventually martyred at the hands of Muslim Moughal emperor Aurangzeb.
What could this possibly have to do with Security Management’s Today in Security feature? Sometimes, it only takes a small spark to inflame a mob. And a movie like Chhaava is something a security director with a facility in the central Indian city of Nagpur, population of approximately three million, should probably take note of as a potential spark for violence. Nagpur is the closest major city to the tomb of Aurangzeb, a site many Hindus would like to see razed.
On Monday, 17 March, violence between Hindus and Muslims spilled into the streets of Nagpur, and authorities, at least in part, blamed the movie.
“I do not want to blame or criticize any movie,” said Devendra Fadnavis, chief minister of Maharashtra state, which includes Nagpur, “but due to Chhaava, people’s sentiments have been in anger against Aurangzeb.”
The movie itself is little more than pretext, however. The Hindu-Muslim tensions in the world’s most populous country have become endemic with occasional violent outbursts, such as the New Delhi riots in 2020 that left more than 50 people dead and hundreds injured.
The violence that erupted in Nagpur was nowhere near that scale. A group of Hindus, reportedly inspired from the film, burned a mock depiction of Aurangzeb’s tomb in the street. Unsubstantiated rumors that the Quran had been burned as part of the incident sent Muslims to the streets to protest and the two sides clashed. Rocks and Molotov cocktails were thrown, leading to some property damage, and clashes with authorities led to at least 34 injuries to police officers. The incident resulted in more than 50 arrests.
Section 144—an Indian law that limits public gatherings at times of potential conflict—was invoked. A statement from authorities noted that “not many vehicles have been torched” and also said, “everyone has been told to not step out unnecessarily or take law in their hands. Do not believe rumors.”
“Shops and businesses in the central areas of Nagpur remain closed and security has been tightened across the city,” the BBC reported, with a nod to deeper unrest. “Meanwhile, opposition parties have criticized the state’s Bharatiya Nanata Party-led government saying ‘law and order in the state had collapsed.’”
