CHANDIGARH, JULY 12: Union Minister of State for Railways and Food Processing Industries Ravneet Singh Bittu on Sunday launched a sharp attack on the makers of the film Satluj, accusing them of presenting disputed claims as historical facts and attempting to shape a selective narrative ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections.
In a strongly worded statement, Bittu challenged the film's producer and director to place before the people of Punjab complete documentary evidence, official records, judicial findings and authenticated data supporting the claim that 25,000 people went missing or were illegally cremated, as portrayed in the film.
"If the makers can authenticate this data with credible documentary evidence, I will publicly apologise," Bittu said, adding that if the figure is merely an estimate or allegation, it should not have been presented as an established historical fact.
He questioned why audiences were not informed that the figure had not been conclusively established through any final judicial determination.
Bittu also criticised what he described as the film's selective portrayal of Punjab's militancy era. He asked why the massacres of innocent Hindus, bus passengers, shopkeepers, labourers, government employees and other civilians killed by terrorists were not depicted with equal prominence.
He further said the sacrifices made by Punjab Police personnel, security forces and ordinary citizens who fought terrorism had been underplayed, while the suffering of thousands of families affected by terrorist violence had been largely ignored.
According to the Union Minister, no responsible filmmaker has the right to present contested figures as unquestionable truth or distort history by selectively highlighting one side of a tragic period. He said every innocent victim of terrorism deserved equal justice and remembrance, irrespective of religion, community or ideology.
Calling on the makers of Satluj to publicly release the documentary basis for the figure of 25,000 within a reasonable time, Bittu warned that if they failed to substantiate the claim with credible and verifiable evidence, they should issue a public clarification stating that the number is not an officially verified count.
He also said all appropriate legal and constitutional remedies would be examined to ensure that historical facts were not misrepresented before the nation.
With political activity intensifying ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections, Bittu alleged that attempts were being made by "propagandists" to revive divisive narratives through cinema and selective storytelling.
He asserted that Punjab's history could not be rewritten through propaganda and maintained that truth, evidence and verified facts must prevail over fiction and hearsay.
