On 27th March, the Mohanlal-starrer Malayalam film ‘L2: Empuraan’ was released. Within hours, the movie faced severe backlash for the misportrayal of the 2002 Gujarat riots. The movie has shown Hindus as insensitive and merciless, using the context of the Godhra riots. The movie has pushed an anti-Hindu narrative. Reportedly, there is a scene in the movie where a Muslim family is shown as being brutally murdered by Hindu right-wing extremists.
Following the backlash, Mohanlal issued a statement on 30th March and acknowledged that certain aspects of the film had caused distress to his fans. He assured that the team had decided to remove the references that led to the backlash.
“I have come to know that some political and social themes that were included in the unveiling of Empuran, the second part of the Lucifer franchise, have caused considerable distress among many of my loved ones,” the actor wrote in a Facebook post.
“As an artist, it is my duty to ensure that none of my films promote hatred towards any political movement, ideology, or religious group. Therefore, both I and the Empuran team express our sincere regret for the distress caused to my dear ones, and we all take responsibility for it, with the realization that such issues must be removed from the film,” he wrote in Malayalam.
Sukumaran, playing second fiddle to Mohanlal’s character in the movie, portrayed a character named Zayed Masood. The controversial scenes relating to the Godhra riots appear in the introduction to the background of Sukumaran’s character. Besides, the movie allegedly shows how the then-ruling party, which was the BJP led by erstwhile Gujarat CM Narendra Modi, misused the central agencies during the riots.
According to media reports, the film opened with a disturbing sequence depicting a Muslim village being burnt during the post-Godhra riots. Following the scene, there was a series of graphic and intense sequences, including Hindu men mercilessly beating a Muslim child and committing violence against a pregnant Muslim woman.
Amid the ongoing controversy around the movie, a letter written by a Christian man named George Joseph has resurfaced, which was published in Mathrubhumi Daily in April 2002.
Letter exposed pre-planned conspiracy in Godhra carnage
On 20th April 2002, almost two months after the deadly Godhra train burning incident that claimed the lives of 59 Hindu karsewaks returning from Ayodhya, a Christian man named George Joseph from Pazhoor wrote a letter to Mathrubhumi Daily describing the day of the incident in his own words. The letter was published in the newspaper in Malayalam.
George had been running a small business for 12 years near the Godhra Railway Station, where the incident that led to the Gujarat riots in 2002 took place. Being an eyewitness to the Godhra carnage, his testimony through the letter gives a true picture of the day, busting the lies that the left-liberals have narrated for over two decades in the media.
He noted that, being a Muslim-dominated area, Godhra experienced a deep communal divide and tension for many years. Non-Muslims like him lived under great fear and constant tension, as any communal unrest across the country used to have a drastic impact in Godhra. According to George, the main culprit behind the Godhra carnage was the Congress councillor. His cronies indulged in the most condemnable rowdy acts in the station surroundings multiple times, and he was a witness to such acts. He categorically suggested that if he had filed a complaint against them, he would not have been alive to write the letter.
George stated that the attack on the Sabarmati Express was a pre-planned exercise. The plan was made many weeks before the incident, and it was impossible to witness what had happened on the day of the attack. “Thousands of people, shouting slogans in favour of the Babri Masjid, were present in the railway station surroundings on that fateful day. Why did the police not try to control them? The Congress councillor was the main reason for that. Even the police did not have the guts to touch him,” he wrote.
Those who managed to jump out of the burning bogie, including children, were mercilessly stoned to death by the mob. George had to run for his life, as it was impossible to stay there as an eyewitness for a longer period of time. “Why is the Congress Party not prepared to condemn and expose the real colour of the culprits? Why is the media selectively avoiding eyewitnesses like us?” he questioned, while asserting it was all about vote politics.
George added that until the problems were resolved, he was not planning to go back. According to him, only Muslims could live peacefully in Godhra. “When communal problems take place, it is not correct to make a pre-judgement without actually analysing the real root of the problem. There are many people who still justify the merciless acts of burning alive the passengers of the Sabarmati Express with kerosene and petrol,” he concluded.
Verbetim translation of the letter
Saturday, April 20
What happened in Godhra…
For the past 12 years, I’ve been running a small business near the railway station in Godhra, Gujarat. I’m writing about things I’ve continuously seen in newspapers and public statements. I was an eyewitness to the Godhra incident.
When we talk about Godhra, it has for years remained a place filled with communal tension; it is also a Muslim-majority area. That in itself makes it a very frightening place for us. Wherever communal issues arise in India, their echoes are felt here too.
The main accused in the Godhra incident, known to be a Congress councillor, is a first-class thug. I’ve personally seen the chaos his men used to create around the station. Had I tried to oppose or complain, I wouldn’t be alive to write this letter today.
The plan to attack the Sabarmati Express was premeditated. Preparations had started weeks in advance. What happened that day were things no human being should have to witness. Thousands had gathered around the railway station that day, chanting slogans in support of the Babri Masjid. Why didn’t the police control them? Because the same Congress councillor was behind it. Even the police didn’t have the courage to touch him.
Those who leapt out of the burning train in panic were pelted with stones from the tracks. Even children were not spared. I had to flee to save my life because it was impossible to stay at the scene.
Why does the Congress not condemn, in strong words, the brutality of those involved in such a heinous act or expose their true faces? Why do the media ignore eyewitnesses like us? All for the sake of votes.
Until the issues in Gujarat are resolved, I am not ready to return there. Because in Godhra, only Muslims are able to live. I say this from personal experience. When communal tensions flare up, prejudices are dangerous. We must investigate the real issues. People in Godhra were ready to justify burning innocent train passengers alive with kerosene and petrol — no matter the cause. I’m writing all this because I could not find any media outlet reporting the truth. Even now, fearless media like Mathrubhumi must step forward to expose the real issues, regardless of caste or religion.
— George Joseph, Pazhoor
The truth of the Godhra riots
The Godhra riots are perhaps among the most misrepresented and the most politicised events in the country’s history of communal riots. While the riots have been used by politicians, media houses and left liberals over the years to paint an anti-Hindu narrative, the carnage that preceded the riots, in which 59 karsevaks were charred to death in a train coach set on fire by a Muslim mob, has never found mention in that narrative.
On 27th February 2002, the Sabarmati Express, after running four hours late, reached Godhra station by 7:40 am. at about 3:30 am. Coach S6 of the train was carrying 59 karsevaks returning from the Ramjanmabhoomi site in Ayodhya. Within minutes of the train arriving at the station, a mob of around 2000 Muslims from the nearby Muslim-dominated area of Signal Falia surrounded the coach carrying karsevaks and set it on fire. All the karsevaks inside the coach, including 25 women and 15 children, were burnt alive.
After years of judicial trial, the trial court convicted 31 Muslims on 22nd February, 2011, for the Godhra massacre. The convictions were later affirmed by the Gujarat High Court in 2017. In February 2003, one of the accused gave a judicial confession in which he admitted that the Godhra carnage was a pre-planned attack.
