The film ‘The Sabarmati Report, released theatrically on November 15, has quickly garnered attention, particularly from Prime Minster Narendra Modi for its portrayal of the Godhra train burning incident that took place on February 27, 2020.
The tragic event involved the burning of the Sabarmati Express in which 59 people were killed, most of whom were Hindus on their way to perform the ‘Kar sevya’ in Ayodhya city of Uttar Pradesh. The incident sparked one of the worst outbreaks of fatal communal violence in India’s recent history that claimed over 1,000 lives, predominantly among the Muslim community.
PM Modi’s praise
Narendra Modi who was the then chief minister of Gujarat at the time of the riots shared a trailer of the movie on X and praised it. He remarked, “Well said. It is good that this truth is coming out, and that too in a way common people can see it,” highlighting his belief that the movie presents a narrative countering what he termed a “fake narrative” surrounding the riots and him.
Modi further mentioned “A fake narrative can persist only for a limited period of time. Eventually, the facts will always come out!.” The endorsement from PM Modi has boosted the movie’s visibility among the public, besides propelling it to the box office.
The film’s narrative
Directed by by Dheeraj Sarna, The Sabarmati Report features main actors including Vikrant Massey, Raashii Khanna and Riddhi Dogra. The movie’s main narrative focuses on an investigative reporter from “The Globe” newspaper who arrives in the riot-hit town to uncover the cause of the train burning and thus touches on issues of media non-partisanship, truth and political spin.
The facts, which the film discusses, hope to reveal a variety of aspects concerning the event and every accusation targeting Modi regarding the riots during his term as Gujarat’s Chief Minister.
The movie has received mixed reviews, while some find enthusiasm in the film’s attempts to rewrite history, others criticize it for potentially fueling more controversy and sentiments related to one of India’s most polarizing events.
Historical context
The Godhra train burning and Gujarat pogrom of 2002 have always been focal points for discussions about communal violence in India.
As a consequence of the event, widespread riots erupted in Gujarat, leading to significant loss of life and property, particularly affecting Muslim community members in the state. The violence, especially in the form of riots, stirred up severe criticism and even accusations of complicity against Modi and other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.
Accusation against Modi
Modi was accused of allowing and even encouraging right-wing Hindu members and others to violence against Muslims following the Godhra incident. Several human rights organisations have also accused Modi of failing to condemn the violence and even of inciting Hindus to attack Muslims.
A senior police officer, Sanjiv Bhatt who is currently languishing in Palanpur sub-jail in Gujarat claimed in a sworn statement to the Indian Supreme Court that Modi had instructed officials to allow Hindus to “vent their anger” on Muslims.
Despite the severity of the accusations, Modi denied any wrongdoing. In 2012, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) which was formed under the order of the Supreme Court of India gave the clean chit to Modi and denied allegations that the state government did not provide enough efforts to prevent the riots. But the controversy did not end, a new allegation which emerged in 2013, accused the SIT of having concealed evidence.
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