Idukki diocese screens 'The Kerala Story' for students

Idukki: The Idukki diocese of Syro-Malabar Catholic Church screened controversial film 'The Kerala Story' for its younger members on Sunday. Students from Grades 10 to 12 were shown the movie as part of catechism classes.

"The movie was screened to educate youngsters about the dangers lurking behind love affairs and marriage," Fr Jins Karakkat, chairman of the Idukki Diocese Media Commission, told Manorama News. The students were asked to watch the movie and review it after discussion within their groups. The dioceses also circulated a book on the matter among students.

Despite a strong protest raised by the ruling CPM and Congress in Kerala, the Doordarshan on Friday aired the controversial Bollywood movie, which wrongly claimed that about 32,000 women from Kerala were converted to Islam and many were sent to ISIS-ruled Syria.

The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing of the CPM, had screened a video 'The Kerala Story True or Fake?' by YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, at various places across the state to debunk the movie. The Youth Congress had staged a protest march to the Doordarshan office against the broadcast of the movie.

The CPM and the Congress in Kerala lodged separate complaints with the Election Commission of India against DD's decision to air the controversial movie, alleging it could potentially polarise society along religious lines and urged the poll panel to intervene and stop its screening.

However, the BJP claimed that the theme of the movie was real and wondered why the Left and the Congress were opposing it.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had on Thursday condemned Doordarshan's decision and asked the public broadcaster to withdraw from screening the controversial movie, saying it would only "exacerbate communal tensions" ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Vijayan had asked the national broadcaster not to become a "propaganda machine" for the BJP and the RSS.