Historical memory should not become a tool for communal mobilisation and the makers of Chauhaan must refrain from using the Rajput name to inflame "caste and communal sentiments", Rajput organisation Kshatriya Parishad said on Monday while reacting to the controversial teaser of Ajay Devgn's new movie. The film has drawn criticism for the way it depicts the Kashmir conflict and stating that pellet guns cause "minimal damage".
Released three days ago, the teaser of the film features a voiceover by Ajay as he readies to fight a mob. A line from the teaser says, "Tell Pathaans that Chauhan has come", which many, on social media, interpreted as an attempt to fan the religious divide.
Now the Kshatriya Parishad has weighed in on the use of the name Chauhaan. "Historical memory must not become a tool for communal mobilisation. We call upon political actors, filmmakers, and media organisations to engage with India's past responsibly, respecting historical complexity rather than exploiting Rajput heritage as bait for divisive political debate,” they said in a statement, which also strongly condemned director Neeraj and Ajay, accusing them of appropriating "the Chauhan clan name for contemporary communal politics" and said they reject every attempt to weaponise Rajput history or appropriate Rajput identities for electoral or ideological purposes.
"At a time when Rajput voices remain underrepresented in mainstream media and public discourse, invoking a Rajput clan name merely to provoke outrage, inflame caste and communal sentiments, or generate political spectacle is both irresponsible and disrespectful," the statement read.
The Parishad cited historical events when Rajputs and Pathaans fought together and for each other to negate what they termed as "profound ignorance of Indian history".
"The subcontinent's past cannot be reduced to simplistic communal binaries. There are numerous examples of Afghans and Rajputs fighting alongside one another: Mahmud Lodi fought under the leadership of Maharana Sanga at the Battle of Khanwa; Hakim Khan Sur commanded a contingent in the army of Maharana Pratap at Haldighati; "Farid Khan, who later became Sher Shah Suri, is traditionally associated with military service under Raja Raisal Shekhawat in his early career; and Maharaja Vikramaditya Tomar laid down his life fighting alongside the Lodi forces in the First Battle of Panipat. These episodes illustrate that medieval political alliances were shaped by statecraft, loyalty, and military strategy- not by the communal narratives being imposed upon them today," the statement read.
The teaser of the film has drawn criticism on social media. Actor Swara Bhasker cited a news report on the youngest pellet victim in Kashmir and said, "Is this what you want to glorify Bollywood?? Pellet guns are not 'limited damage'. They are a gross human rights violation. And mainstream Kashmiris are not Pathaans. Kuch to research kar liya karo yaar." She captioned her post as "Vivek Agnihotri-fication of Bollywood", in a reference to the filmmaker's The Kashmir Files.
Backed by Jyoti Deshpande, Aanand L Rai and Himanshu Sharma under Jio Studios and Color Yellow Productions, Chauhaan is slated to release on October 1.