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By Prateek Chakraborty: The Kerala Story sparked a massive controversy as soon as its teaser was released in November last year. The central point of those hauling up the filmmakers over the coals is the figure of 32,000 women being converted to Islam and radicalised.
The movie centres around religious indoctrination in Kerala and how Hindu and Christian women are allegedly being targeted by radical Islamic clerics. The Kerala Story claims that these women were converted to Islam and later sent to countries like Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria “to fight for the cause of Islam”.
The filmmakers claim that 32,000 women from the southern state were converted to Islam and recruited by the terrorist outfit Islamic State (IS).
The focal point of the debate is now the figure of 32,000.
But what actually is the number of people, especially women, in Kerala who have converted to Islam? There is no absolute recent data, but there are some numbers. And we also know the prime reason why women convert.
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MUSLIM POPULATION IN KERALA
According to the 2011 Census of India, Muslims constitute approximately 26.56% of the total population of Kerala. This makes Kerala a state with a relatively high proportion of Muslims.
In terms of population growth, the Census data indicates that the Muslim population in Kerala grew at a rate of 12.8% between 2001 and 2011, which is much higher than the overall population growth rate of 4.9% during the same period.
But is there any Kerala government data on conversions, especially on conversion of women in the state?
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KERALA GOVT’S NUMBER ON CONVERSIONS
In 2012, then chief minister Oommen Chandy tabled a report in the Kerala Assembly and said that 7,713 people had converted to Islam from 2006 to 2012. The information provided by Chandy was in his response to a question raised by CPI(M) leader KK Latika. Talking about women, Chandy said 2,667 girls had converted to Islam between 2006 and 2009.
According to the report, the majority of those who converted to Islam during this period were women, and the conversion was primarily driven by marriage.
The report also highlighted the need for the government to raise awareness among young people about the implications of religious conversion and to ensure that the conversion process is voluntary and not coerced.
The Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council’s mouthpiece, Jagratha, in 2015 published a report saying around 4,000 young girls converted to Islam between 2005 and 2012.
In September 2021, a prominent Catholic Bishop said non-Muslim youngsters were being lured and targeted through ‘love jihad’ and ‘narcotic jihad’ in Kerala. “Those who claim love jihad doesn’t exist in Kerala are blind to reality,” said Joseph Kallarangatt, bishop of the Palai diocese of the Syro-Malabar Church.
In 2019, then Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy mentioned in Parliament that “the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the state police forces have registered cases against operatives and sympathisers of terror group Islamic State (IS), and have arrested 155 accused from across the country so far”.
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AMIT MALVIYA QUOTES ACHUTHANANDAN
On Wednesday, BJP’s IT cell head Amit Malviya tweeted a video clip in which former chief minister VS Achuthanandan was heard saying that Kerala would become an Islamic state in the next 20 years. Achuthanandan’s comments are from 2010.
“Their plan is to make Kerala a Muslim state in the next 20 years. For that, they are luring youngsters. Offering them money. Insisting them to marry Hindu girls to increase the Muslim population. This is how they are growing their majority. And these tricks are working!” Malviya quoted Achuthanandan’s comments on his post.
Reacting to the controversy over The Kerala Story, Malviya said that ‘love jihad’ “is real and dangerous”. He also said the movie is a “grim reminder of what lies ahead” if action was not taken.
“Our girls are being lured away and used as cannon fodder for radical terror organisations. We can bury our heads in sand, like an ostrich, at our own peril. It will engulf the rest of us sooner than we think. The Kerala Story is a grim reminder of what lies ahead, if we don’t act now,” he said in the tweet.
WHAT SHASHI THAROOR, VIPUL SHAH HAVE TO SAY
Amid the controversy over numbers, the makers of The Kerala Story are facing a fresh allegation. That they have reduced the number from 32,000 to three after being questioned about the figure.
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Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor reacted to the change in the figure of number of women converted to Islam, saying “the plot thickens”.
“The plot thickens. The filmmakers have updated the movie’s description on YouTube and changed ‘32,000 women’ to ‘3 women’. Earlier, they said the movie is about the “heartbreaking and gut-wrenching stories of 32,000 females in Kerala”. Now it says: “The Kerala Story is a compilation of the true stories of three young girls from different parts of Kerala”. I rest my case,” he tweeted on Tuesday.
Producer Vipul Shah had earlier reacted to the debate over the 32,000 figure and said there was enough evidence of conversion in Kerala and the debate should be centered around how to stop it, instead of focusing on the numbers.
In an exclusive interview with India Today, Vipul Shah said, “We don’t want to get into the debate on the numbers, we want to talk about the issue. We want to bring notice to the human tragedy happening in Kerala and in India.”
On the other hand, director Sudipto Sen said the discussion on numbers becomes valid only when people have seen the film. The focus of the movie is on human tragedy, he said.
So, the controversy over the numbers rages on and is unlikely to die down soon as there is a dearth of reliable government data or study.
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