True Story Behind ‘The Kerala Story’, Movie That Shocked The Nation

Controversies surrounding Sudipto Sen’s upcoming movie The Kerala Story have given rise to a political storm since the first teaser was released. The film stars Adah Sharma, Sonia Balani, Yogita Bihani, and Siddhi Idnani. The film will be released on May 5, and the political disturbance is getting more prominent. The Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan has called it a ‘Sanghi propoganda’.

A plea seeking a stay on the film’s release was denied by the Supreme Court. The film had to go through 10 cuts before the censor board gave it an A certificate. Reportedly, the claims made in the movie are false and The Kerala State Committee of Muslim Youth League has announced a reward of Rs 1 crore to anyone who proves that the allegations shown in the movie are true.

A sneak peek at the film’s plot

The film’s plot follows the account of a group of women from Kerala who are converted to Islam through deceit. They join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Adah Sharma plays a Hindu Malayali nurse who is converted to Islam by the name Fathima Ba and then joins ISIS and ends up in an Afghan jail. She identifies as one of the “32,000 girls” (the film’s trailer on YouTube showed this number which has now been changed to three) from the Hindu and Christian communities who went from Kerala. They are allegedly recruited into the Islamic State after being converted to Islam.

The film claims to be based on real events with a caption saying “Uncovering the truth that was kept hidden”. But are the claims true?

The movie claims to display the reality of what these missing women from Kerala went through. However, according to some reports, the movie’s claims seem to have little or no evidence to back them up.

The film’s most controversial claim thus far has been that approximately 32,000 girls have gone ‘missing’ from the southern state. Allegedly after being forcefully/deceitfully converted to Islam and then recruited by the Islamic State.

Let’s have a look at the claims that stirred controversy and how authentic they are:

The 32,000 Girls controversy

In an interview on the YouTube channel ‘Festival of Bharat’, Sen claimed that in 2010, then chief minister Oommen Chandy tabled a report on the floor of the Kerala Assembly. The report said,

“every year approximately 2800-3200 girls were being converted to Islam”

The director Sudipto Sen says in the interview,

“just calculate this number for ten years and that gives you 32,000 to 33,000 girls”

That’s the number quoted in his film. Sen said that he has “the document” to prove his claim. But, so far, he has not publicly shared it.

The Indian Express was not able to find any 2010 document that mentions the figures quoted by Sen.

The ISIS recruitment from Kerala

A bigger claim made in the movie is that the girls from Kerala who were forcefully converted to Islam also went “missing”. And were allegedly recruited by the Islamic State to serve as jihadi fighters.

The so-called terrorist group “Khorasan Caliphate” first came on the radar of Indian intelligence agencies in 2013. After reports from Syria pointed out there were some Indians in the ranks of the IS fighters.

Several Indians have traveled to Iraq and Syria to fight alongside the IS since then. About 100 of them have been arrested by the agencies either on their return from Syria or while preparing to join the troops there. After being inspired by the IS many have also been arrested for preparing to carry out an attack in India.

The Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy in 2019 told Parliament in a written reply that,

“the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the state police forces have registered cases against ISIS operatives and sympathisers, and have arrested 155 accused from across the country so far”

Majority of India’s ISIS recruits came from Kerala

The Indian security establishment handled the issue of IS influence on Indians with a warning. The IS recruits or potential recruits have been counseled and made to go through a deradicalization program, and let off with a warning.

However, information suggests that the number of Indian recruits in the IS has been very less.

According to a US State Department report titled ‘Country Reports on Terrorism 2020: India’,

“There were 66 known Indian-origin fighters affiliated with ISIS, as of November” (2020)

According to intelligence agencies, within the minuscule of Indian recruits, individuals belonging to southern India comprises about 90%. The ORF report cited above stated that the majority of India’s IS recruits came from Kerala, with the state accounting for “40 of the 180 to 200 cases” across the country.

Reportedly, most recruits from Kerala who joined the IS either worked in the Gulf or had come back with a liking for the IS’s extreme ideology.

The film’s claim about the story of the four girls

The film claims to be based on the story of four women who were converted to Islam and they traveled with their husbands to Afghanistan to join ISIS in the duration of 2016 and 2018. It has also been claimed that they are currently incarcerated in an Afghan prison.

In December 2019, under the title ‘Khorasan Files: The Journey of Indian Islamic State Widows’ interviews of four women from Kerala were published by the website StratNewsGlobal. The women who gave the interviews were allegedly Nimisha alias Fathima Isa, Sonia Sebastian alias Ayisha, Merin alias Mirriam, and Rafaella.

So, it seems that some of the claims might be true.

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan called it a propaganda movie

He aimed at communal polarization. He stated that the film has been made to acquire an advantage in the electoral politics of Kerala by Sangh Parivaar.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor also slammed the film, The Kerala Story

It may be *your* Kerala story. It is not *our* Kerala story. pic.twitter.com/Y9PTWrNZuL

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 30, 2023

A journalist from Chennai, Aravindakshan BR, has filed a complaint against the director seeking a ban on the movie

Dear @amitmalviya Some forces are trying to bring this country into disrepute through the movie “The Kerala Story” by spreading false information

So I was the one who filed the complaint to prevent the release of that film..
No other powers https://t.co/QMunQtZZrJ

— Aravindakshan B R (@RealAravind36) November 9, 2022

Prior to the release of the movie precautionary measures are being taken to manage the uproar. We will have to wait and watch how accurate is the story.