Punjab Must Never Forget: Why the Movie SATLUJ Should Be Seen, Not Silenced

 

Punjab Must Never Forget: Why the Movie SATLUJ Should Be Seen, Not Silenced

Hindi Version: https://rakeshinsightfulgaze.blogspot.com/2026/07/blog-post_12.html

I recently watched the movie Satluj, and it left me with one important question: Why was there so much opposition to this film? If the events portrayed in the movie are rooted in one of the darkest chapters of Punjab's history during the 1980s and 1990s when Congress governments were in power at both the Centre and in Punjab why should any government today fear people watching it? In my opinion, every democratic government should encourage citizens to confront difficult chapters of history rather than attempt to bury them. Democracies become stronger when they learn from their mistakes, not when they try to erase them. If any government fears a film about the past, perhaps it should ask itself whether it worries that future generations may one day make similar films about the present.

For me, Satluj is not simply a movie. It reflects a period that I lived through. Terrorism was not a story in the newspapers it was the reality of everyday life. One of my own close family members, who served in the police, was killed by terrorists. I also knew many other innocent people who lost their lives during those years. Entire communities lived in fear, and Punjab paid an enormous human, social, and economic price. There should be no confusion about one fact: terrorism devastated Punjab. At the same time, the film raises difficult questions about whether some individuals in positions of authority also abused that extraordinary period for personal gain or acted outside the law. Those questions deserve honest discussion because history should never protect wrongdoing, regardless of who committed it.

History shows us that great societies do not become stronger by hiding their failures. Hollywood has produced numerous films about Adolf Hitler, the Holocaust, and the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime. Those films were not made to glorify evil; they were made to ensure that future generations understood what happens when hatred, extremism, and unchecked power are allowed to flourish. They have educated millions of people, preserved historical memory, and encouraged societies to reject leaders and ideologies that resemble those dark chapters of history. No serious democracy bans such films simply because they expose painful truths. Instead, they are viewed as reminders of what must never be repeated. It is also difficult to understand why Satluj became controversial when other politically debated films such as The Kashmir Files, The Kerala Story, and Dhurandhar were allowed to reach audiences. If one version of history deserves to be heard, then every version deserves the same freedom. Let the people watch the film and decide for themselves. Satluj deserves to be viewed in exactly the same spirit. Rather than suppressing it, governments should encourage people to watch it with a simple message: "Learn from this history so that we never repeat it."

In my opinion, Daljeet's performance deserves special recognition. Had Satluj been produced in Hollywood with the same emotional depth and storytelling, I believe his performance would have been worthy of international recognition and perhaps even an Academy Award nomination. He does not merely portray a character; he captures the fear, grief, and emotional scars carried by an entire generation of Punjabis who lived through those tragic years.

The purpose of Satluj should not be to divide people or reopen old wounds, but to encourage reflection on how one of India's most prosperous states descended into years of violence. We should ask difficult questions. How did Punjab reach that point? Who benefited from the conflict? What political mistakes were made? What failures of governance allowed the crisis to grow? Unless these questions are honestly examined, future generations may repeat the same mistakes.

Governments naturally prefer stories that celebrate their achievements rather than highlight their failures. That tendency is not unique to any one political party. Throughout history, those in power have often tried to shape public memory through speeches, sympathetic media, or selective narratives. But history does not belong to governments. It belongs to the people. A mature democracy does not fear debate, criticism, or historical reflection because those are the very tools that help societies improve.

I also believe Punjabis living around the world have an important role to play. Their emotional attachment to their homeland is understandable, but love for Punjab should never become support for violence, extremism, or further division. There are continuing concerns that extremist ideas are encouraged by some groups outside India. Whatever their source, any effort that glorifies violence or revives old divisions ultimately harms Punjab far more than it helps. If Punjabis living abroad truly wish to strengthen their homeland, the greatest contribution they can make is to invest in education, innovation, entrepreneurship, healthcare, agriculture, and opportunities for young people. Punjab does not need more slogans or more conflict. It needs schools, industries, research, jobs, and justice.

Punjab has always been known as the land of courage. But true courage is not measured by the willingness to fight. It is measured by the wisdom to choose peace over hatred, justice over revenge, and progress over division. The identity of Punjabis has never been terrorism; it has been resilience, hard work, generosity, and the determination to stand for justice. History divided Punjab once. We must ensure that it is never divided again by religion, politics, or extremism.

The future of Punjab will not be built by reliving yesterday's conflicts. It will be built through education, economic growth, constitutional values, equal opportunity, and honest governance. That is how Punjab can once again become one of India's strongest, most prosperous, and most respected states.

The lesson of Satluj is not that we should fear history. It is that we should have the courage to learn from it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How We Turned an Abstract God into Concrete Hate

Image
  How We Turned an Abstract God into Concrete Hate Hindi Version: https://rakeshinsightfulgaze.blogspot.com/2025/12/blog-post_12.html God was never meant to be owned. In its earliest human understanding, God was abstract, unknowable, and undefined. People did not claim certainty over it. They sensed it in nature, in conscience, in fear, wonder, and humility. Worship had no walls. It happened under open skies, near rivers, in forests, and in silence. Spirituality was personal, inward, and restrained by doubt. Everything broke the moment humans tried to contain the abstract. The moment God was locked inside stone, gold, and spectacle, spirituality was replaced by religion. And once religion took physical form, it demanded control. Someone had to manage God. Interpret God. Defend God. Faith stopped being a personal search and became a collective identity. Identity demanded loyalty. Loyalty demanded enemies. This is where belief became power. At some point, humanity reached an abs...
Read more

Distraction as Governance: How a Scripted National Song Debate Shielded the SIR Controversy

Image
  Distraction as Governance: How a Scripted National Song Debate Shielded the SIR Controversy Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5jj6tmNYs20 Hindi Version: https://rakeshinsightfulgaze.blogspot.com/2025/12/sir_11.html Two days ago, India witnessed a moment that will not be remembered for what Parliament accomplished, but for how deliberately it avoided its responsibilities. Ten hours were spent debating Vande Mataram and reminiscing about 150 old songs, not because Parliament had run out of issues, but because the ruling party needed a distraction. Crucially, this spectacle unfolded just before the scheduled national debate on the Special Summary Revision, a process already mired in allegations of mass voter deletions and electoral manipulation. Seen in context, the timing was not random. It was strategic. It was engineered. The BJP leadership understood that the SIR debate could expose disturbing patterns: unexplained deletions, duplicate voter entries, unexplai...
Read more

Superstitions: Where Do They Come From, and Why Do People Believe in Them?

Image
  Superstitions: Where Do They Come From, and Why Do People Believe in Them? Hindi Version: https://rakeshinsightfulgaze.blogspot.com/2025/12/blog-post_14.html When undesirable events occur in our lives, our natural response is to look for reasons. We try to identify causes so we can avoid repeating the same outcomes. Often, this process is logical and helpful. We learn, adapt, and move forward. But this search for meaning does not always lead us to accurate conclusions. Sometimes, instead of identifying real causes, we attach significance to unrelated details. A coincidence becomes an explanation. A single occurrence becomes a pattern. When this happens, superstition begins to take shape. One of the most striking aspects of superstition is how little evidence it requires. A single event is often enough. If something good happens while a certain object is present, or something bad follows a particular action, the mind quickly connects the two. No repeated testing is needed...
Read more