IN India, creative boundaries are tight. Its far-right regime prefers facts fictionalised and communities demonised in grand propaganda films. History, academia and films are controlled to erase memory and reframe the past. Satluj, a biographical film about the life and times of human rights defender Jaswant Singh Khalra, played by actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh, was abruptly removed from a streaming platform two days after its release. The ban on the most-awaited movie has sparked mass outrage with downloaded versions being screened in gurdwaras, parks and other public spaces across Indian Punjab. The film follows Khalra, who exposed thousands of extrajudicial killings and disappearances of Sikhs from 1984 to 1995. In doing so, it exposes the playbook that powerful institutions use to crush resistance. Although he was disappeared and killed, and his body never found, several police officers in Punjab were convicted.

Over the last decade, several films have faced bans and delays, or have been cut extensively due to religious and political concerns. Only partisan cinema, such as Kerala Story and Kashmir Files, enjoys a smooth ride to the theatres, with public endorsement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself. The expanding pattern of censorship is designed to serve the BJP government, forcing artistic expression to surrender to the nationalist, Hindu supremacy agenda. Satluj brings up some uncomfortable truths. Hailed as “one of the finest Indian films”, it forces India to reflect on its human rights record. Not only has this ban reignited the debate around censorship, communal anxieties and ruthless repression, it has also revealed the deepest fears of the state. Lastly, Punjab’s reaction to the said ban shows that disrespect towards a significant moment in Sikh history, its hero and the scars of a deadly decade is unacceptable. It is crucial that censor boards be free of political compulsions so that democracy and diversity can thrive. Voices that make a case for humanity are not villains.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2026