The other month (Jan 2008), one has witnessed the acts of breaking glass panes, disrupting the screening of film Jodha Akbar, as a part of protests by sections of Rajput and Khsatriaya community against this film. They claim that this film insults their community honour! Some Governments banned this film, the ban which eventually was lifted by the courts.
The arguments of those opposing the film are on the overt ground that film is not historically accurate, as per them Jodha was Akbar's daughter in law not his wife. Many have powerfully asserted that the film is a dishonour to 'our' daughters and daughters-in-laws. As such the film is made on the backdrop of the life and times of Akbar, regarded by Amartya Sen as one of the two great emperors who happened to rule India. The film shows many a trend and patterns of the time, Akbar's policy towards those following other faiths, his alliances with Rajputs and the development of Mughal Rajput syncretism. In addition it also portrays him as the ruler having great respect for other prevalent religious tradition here, Hinduism.
It is not that the theme of Akbar-Jodha is being presented on the screen for the first time. The perception about Akbar-Jodha relationship has been immortalized by the all time classic film Mughal-e-Azam, whose primary focus was on love breaking the social hierarchies of master and slave. It incidentally showed Jodha-Akbar relationship also. The film was well received at that time and was a big hit all around. So why protests against it at this point of time. During last few decades the identity based politics and communal historiography has gripped the society. The rise of right wing politics all over the globe and here at home has given a serious setback to the concept of intercommunity harmony.
The process of narrow identities getting dwarfed by the national and global identities has also faced a severe jolt.
Currently the narrow, caste, religion identities are asserting up strongly.
The communal historiography which understands the history through the prism of religion has been brought in strongly by the RSS combine and it presents the Mughal period as the dark period of Indian history, depicting Muslim kings in the total negative light, as tyrants, as the one's destroying temples, forcing conversions and violating the honour of the Hindu women.
This film successfully breaks that mould brought in by communal ideology and poses a challenge to the edifice on which their politics is based.
Ram Puniyani
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