Chandigarh: Punjab government today decided not to intervene on the issue of the
controversial movie 'Nanak Shah Fakir' in the wake of the film-makers'
reported decision not to release the movie in the state.
Any
decision to ban the movie had become unnecessary in view of the
film-makers' "decision" against releasing it in Punjab, chief minister
Amarinder Singh said in a statement here.
The statement further
said the makers of the film, in their petition before the Supreme Court,
had clearly stated that "looking at the sensitivity of the issue and
the public sentiment involved", they had decided "not to release the
film in the state of Punjab for the time being."
Taking cognizance of this submission, the chief minister said
no action was required on part of the state government at present.
The
government would review the situation and take an appropriate decision
if the same becomes necessary in the future, he said, adding that any
attempt to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere in the state would be dealt
with an iron hand.
Amarinder said he had also taken note of the Akal Takht's ban on the film.
The
highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, Akali Takht, had yesterday decided
to impose a complete ban on the movie amid protests by several Sikh
organisations, who had objected to the portrayal of Guru Nanak, saying
any depiction of a Sikh Guru or his family members in living form was
against the tenets of the Sikh religion.
Projecting the Guru and his family as human beings was offensive to the principles of Sikhism, they said.
However,
the Supreme Court today criticised the apex religious body of the
Sikhs, Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), for imposing
restrictions on the film and cleared the decks for its nationwide
release on April 13.
The chief minister was of the view that
while authors, film-makers etc., had the creative freedom of expression,
such freedom could not be allowed to violate the religious
sensitivities of any community, the statement said.
At the same
time, he appealed to the protesting Sikh organisations not to resort to
violence or cause any damage to life and property to express their
resentment against the movie.
In 2015 also, the producers of the
film had decided to withdraw the movie from cinema halls across the
country and other parts of the world after protests from religious Sikh
groups.
PTI
