Why was 'Satluj', film on Punjab insurgency, taken down?

The biographical drama Satluj, inspired by the life of activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, has been removed from streaming platform ZEE5 in India shortly after its release, marking the latest setback for a film that faced years of censorship disputes over its portrayal of one of the country's most violent periods.

The film, previously titled Ghallughara and later Punjab '95, follows Khalra's investigation into allegations that security forces secretly cremated victims of the Punjab separatist insurgency without records or notifying their families. Khalra was abducted and murdered in 1995 after investigating the alleged disappearances. Several police officers were later convicted in connection with his killing, says the BBC.

The movie is set against the backdrop of the Punjab separatist movement, also known as the Khalistan insurgency, which lasted from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s. Some reports claim that the conflict resulted in an estimated 21,469 deaths between 1981 and 1995, including civilians, security personnel and Sikh militants.

One of the deadliest episodes of the conflict was Operation Blue Star in 1984, when Indian forces entered the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar to remove armed militants. Official Indian government figures put the death toll at 576, including 493 militants and civilians and 83 soldiers. Independent researchers and human rights groups have estimated civilian deaths alone at between 1,000 and 3,000. Violence remained high into the early 1990s, with militant attacks contributing to civilian death tolls exceeding 1,500 annually during some years.

The film's journey to release was marked by a prolonged battle with India's Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), which repeatedly raised objections to its content.

The original title, Ghallughara, a reference to historic mass killings of Sikhs in the 18th century, was changed at the board's direction to Punjab '95 and later to Satluj. The CBFC also expanded its requested edits from 21 cuts to 127, seeking to remove references linking the story to real events, the portrayal of Khalra and scenes depicting police violence, citing concerns that the film could create law-and-order problems in Punjab.

The unresolved certification dispute led the filmmakers to withdraw the movie from its scheduled premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023.

Instead of pursuing a theatrical release, the producers opted to release the film directly on streaming platform ZEE5, where CBFC certification is not required. Director Honey Trehan said the version released online was "without any cuts or compromises", reflecting the filmmakers' original vision.

However, the film was removed from ZEE5 for viewers in India shortly after its release. ZEE5 has said it continues to support the project and hopes to make it available again, although no timeline has been announced.

The film centres on Khalra's efforts to document allegations of enforced disappearances and secret cremations during the Punjab insurgency, a period during which human rights groups accused security forces of arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. The allegations have remained one of the conflict's most contentious legacies.