Telangana’s intellectuals find fault with objectionable lines in ‘Bharathi Bharathi Uyyalo’ song from ‘Razakar’ movie

Directed by Yata Satyanarayana, Razakar is produced by BJP leader Gudur Narayana Reddy under the banner Samarveer Creations LLP.

The film stars Bobby Simha, Raj Arjun, Anasuya Bharadwaj, and Vedhika.

Its music is composed by Bheems Ceciroleo. The lyrics of the song have been penned by Kasarla Shyam.

Hyderabad, 17 Sept: What was it called in 1948, and when did ‘liberation’ come?

Inciting communal hatred: Sky Baaba

A still from the song ‘Bharathi Bharathi Uyyalo’. (X)

Yousuf Shaik aka Sky Baaba, a poet, Telangana-Muslim activist, and editor of Chaman magazine, took objection to the lyrics in “Bharathi Bharathi Uyyalo” song which, he said, “degraded the Muslim community”.

“Telangana is known for being culturally rooted. People from different communities take part in the Alaibalai event. It is not right to incite communal hatred through such films (Razakar). They should be banned. Observing Namaz leaves a stain on their (Muslims) forehead. How terrible it is to say, ‘Maraka Kodukulni Narakale‘. I strongly condemn those lines,” Sky Baaba told South First.

He explained, “Even in the trailer, hundreds of people are seen hanging from a banyan tree. It was the struggle of the Gonds against the British Raj. It is so sad to see how the facts are being twisted to show Nizam kings so violently.”

The poet-activist added, “Such efforts are likely to have a negative impact on the Muslims in Telangana. So, I request the people to lodge complaints against the writers, film producer and the director of Razakar.”

Related: Political sparks fly over ‘Razakar’ film

Tweaking Hyderabad’s history: Sangishetty Srinivas

The Razakars were part of a voluntary force constituted by the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen party in 1938 in the erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad ruled by Nizam.

The Razakars, spearheaded by Kasim Razvi, resorted to violence against poorly armed peasants in the entire Telangana. Their atrocities came to an end with the intervention of the Indian government after the then-home minister Sardar Vallabhai Patel initiated “Operation Polo” and merged the Hyderabad State into the Indian Union.

Later, nearly 1,500 Razakars, including Kasim Razvi, were taken into custody and booked for various crimes.

Historian-writer-activist Sangishetty Srinivas. (sangishetty.srinivas/Facebook)

“Razvi was sentenced to seven years in jail in different cases, including murder, arson and loot. He served the sentence till 1957 and was released from Yervada Jail in Pune after which he left for Karachi. He even penned his autobiography,” Sangishetty Srinivas, a historian-cum-writer-cum-activist based in Telangana, told South First.

According to the historian, Razakars not only comprised Muslims but also BCs, Reddys, and Brahmins in some areas. For instance, during Operation Polo, the then deputy prime minister Pingali Venkatrama Reddy, who outrightly supported the Razakars, was immediately placed under house arrest by the Indian military.

“Venkatrama Reddy was the father of Justice Pingali Jaganmohan Reddy. Similarly, the Razakars who killed Doddi Komaraiah — the hero of the Telangana Armed Struggle — consisted of BCs, Dalits, and Muslims (who, in turn, were instigated by landlord Visnoor Deshmukh),” he explained.

There are recorded proofs of the incidents that happened during the Razakar Movement and after Operation Polo. In fact, the Sunder Lal Committee Report, submitted in 1949, revealed that nearly 40,000 people — both Muslims and Hindus — were killed in the aftermath of the annexation of Hyderabad.

“However, the makers of Razakar are trying to present only half-truths, tweak the history, and sell everything as facts,” Sangishetty Srinivas noted.

He hastened to add: “The film is propaganda, just like Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files (2022), and a shameless attempt to divide votes through inciting communal riots in the ensuing elections in Telangana. As regards the ‘Bharathi Bharathi Uyyalo‘ song, words like ‘maraka‘ have been used only to demean the Muslims by calling them a blot in the history of Telangana.”

“We are showing only the genocide that happened for 396 days under Nizam’s rule. If the #Telangana government can provide security to Munawar Farooqi’s show in Hyderabad, they should do the same with the #Razakar movie.” Producer Gudur Narayan Reddy pic.twitter.com/GxH7e3y2jL

— 🅺🅳🆁 (@KDRtweets) October 10, 2023

Also Read: As the release date of ‘Leo’ nears, a sneak peek into the controversies surrounding Lokesh Kanagaraj-Vijay’s film

Misrepresentation of facts: Arunank Latha

Meanwhile, the film’s trailer sparked a public debate on social media with Telangana-based intellectuals expressing their viewpoints in strong words.

“The footage in Razakar‘s trailer depicts a mass execution where several people were hanged on a Banyan tree. It was a real incident. However, the executioners were not Asafjahis but the British. Ramji Gondu, an icon of the Adivasi movement, was executed in that incident,” Arunank Latha, a social analyst based in Hyderabad, told South First.

He said that though most Razakars were Muslims, they were led by several Hindu landlords, including Visunoor Deshmukh and Jenna Reddy Pratap Reddy, to mention a few.

“However, the upcoming Telugu film Razakar is trying to portray that only Hindus lost their lives because of the atrocities committed by the Muslims during the Nizam rule, which was not true. The movie is trying to create a rift in society by misrepresenting the facts,” Arunank Latha added.

Razakar also stirred much political heat after the trailer was launched by Goshamahal MLA Raja Singh.

It may be recalled that Telangana Minister KT Rama Rao posted a tweet stating that he took up the matter with the Censor Board and assured to take care of the law and order situation in Telangana.

However, the BJP top brass claimed that the film will depict the atrocities committed allegedly by Razakars against Hindus in their desperate pursuit of spreading Islam in the then-princely state of Hyderabad.

Also Read: Hyderabad’s history is equivalent to partition stories, says ‘Unheard’ director Aditya KV