Ahir community calls for boycott of 120 Bahadur: ‘Will file FIRs against Farhan Akhtar… won’t let film run in theatres’
In a panchayat near the Kherki Daula toll plaza on Sunday, the group renewed its demand that the movie’s name be changed.
Members of the Ahir community held a protest near Kherki Daula toll plaza, demanding a title change for Farhan Akhtar’s 120 Bahadur. (Express Photo) On Sunday, a group of men sat cross-legged on mattresses under a makeshift ceremonial tent near the Kherki Daula toll plaza, on the carriageway towards Delhi. Hookahs and water bottles were passed around on what was a sunny yet pleasant day, with a slight nip in the air.
At the front stood a man holding a microphone.
“Only the Constitution is supreme in our country, not Farhan Akhtar or the censor board,” said Abhayram Yadav, leader of the Mahendragarh Yadav Sabha, to enthusiastic applause from the audience. “If the government wants, they can stop the film from being released.”
The crowd responded in chorus when the next speaker shouted, “Farhan Akhtar Murdabad (Down with Farhan Akhtar)!”
The men belonged to the Ahir community, and the movie they were referring to was 120 Bahadur. The historical war drama starring Farhan Akhtar is based on the battle at Rezang-La during the 1962 Indo-China war.
Uniting under the banner of the Sanyukt Ahir Regiment Morcha, the group participated in the panchayat, doubling up as a dharna, to renew their demand that the movie’s name be changed.
They contended that the film, whose trailer was released on November 6 and is set to be out on November 21, does not adequately credit the ‘balidan (sacrifice)’ of nearly 120 Ahir soldiers of the 13th Kumaon Regiment who defended the strategic mountain pass of Rezang La at Ladakh against China’s People’s Liberation Army.
“Until our demands are met, I urge our community to protest using ‘Boycott 120 (Bahadur)’ posters. If the movie is still released, the administration will be responsible… We will not let it run in theatres… We must stay united against a money-making venture that even the general public should not watch in its current form. Each of the Ahirs had killed at least 20-50 soldiers,” said Arun Yadav, one of the founders of the Morcha.
“It is unfortunate that no one from the Union Information Ministry has had time to meet us,” he said.
“We will file FIRs at Kherki Daula and other areas against Farhan Akhtar since they have said the film is based on true historical events — but they are not showing that. Satya ghatna kyu nahi dikhare, kuch logon aur ek jaati ko famous karne ka anyay kyun kar rahe hain? (Why are they not showing the real facts, and, instead, doing injustice by promoting a few people and one community?” alleged Arun.
He added that the organisation will meet all MPs and MLAs of the district where their community has a presence with a representation listing their demands: these include that descendants of Ahir soldiers of the 1962 war be called for the movie’s screening after obtaining no-objection certificates from them.
Major (retired) Dr TC Rao said they are hopeful that the Supreme Court or High Court will register their petition in this regard by Tuesday. “Even the dialogues they have added now in the trailer are due to the pressure applied by each and every one of us (Ahirs),” he claimed.
Abhayram stressed that the community must condemn and boycott the film unless it adequately reflects their struggles. “We will not let it be released… even if sacrifices may be needed.”
This is not the first such protest by the community. On October 27, hundreds protested in Gurgaon. The protesters covered a distance of around 17 km — from the Kherki Daula toll plaza to the Delhi-Haryana border at Sirhaul — in three hours.
A sizable police presence, with vans, fire engines, and some personnel with riot vests and sticks, was present on Sunday.
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