Padmaavat: Karni Sena says Rajput women to commit Jauhar on 24th Jan, 1826 have registered

To protest against the Sanjay Leela Bhansali's  Padmaavat, women in Rajasthan have pledged to commit Jauhar on 24th January. Mahipal Makrana, President SRKS said "Rajput women will commit Jauhar on January 24 at Chittorgarh. Total 1826 women have registered for it." 

The Jauhar is being organised by Sarv Samaj Samiti of Chittorgarh and Shri Rajput Karni Sena. The same organisations that had laid siege on the gates of the Chittorgarh Fort for over a month to oppose the movie. 

“The women will take out a ‘Swabhimaan Rally’ on the 21 January. The Jauhar will be stopped only if the film stops. And if that does not happen, the government will be responsible,” said Makrana. “And a Jauhar by women is never complete without saka by men. The men will undertake saka and give their sacrifice,. We too will take to the roads with a saffron turban” warned Makrana. 

The women wing of Shri Rajput Sabha, the apex body of the Rajputs today expressed anger at the court order and said the order was not acceptable to them. When asked whether they would commit Jauhar to protest against the film. They said “We will fight against those who are distorting history. We will burn Bhansali,” said Prerna Shekhawat  

Hemendra Kumari, the chief of the women’s wing of Shri Rajput sabha said, all options of protest were open. They would draw a concerted strategy and oppose the film. “We will fight the film on streets and in court she said.”  

The Supreme Court on  paved the way for the nationwide release of Bollywood movie 'Padmaavat' on January 25 by staying the ban on the screening of the controversial film in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

The apex court also restrained other states from issuing any such notification or order banning the screening of the film, with Chief Justice Dipak Misra saying "the whole problem is when the exhibition of a film is stopped like this, my constitutional conscience shocks me". "There were so many films earlier, but nobody really bothered. 'Bandit Queen' had passed the test of the Supreme Court," the CJI, who was heading the bench, said.

The film, starring Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh in lead roles, is based on the saga of historic battle of 13th century between Maharaja Ratan Singh and his army of Mewar and Sultan Alauddin Khilji of Delhi. The decks were cleared for the release of the film as the apex court stayed the orders and notifications issued by Rajasthan and Gujarat governments prohibiting its screening.

Haryana and Madhya Pradesh governments have not issued any formal order but had stated that they would not allow the exhibition of the film. "In view of the aforesaid, we direct there shall be stay of operation of the notifications and orders issued by the respondent-states and we also restrain the other states to issue notifications/orders in any manner prohibiting the exhibition ...," the bench, which also comprised Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said.

In its interim order, it observed: "It should always be remembered that if intellectual prowess and natural or cultivated power of creation is interfered without the permissible facet of law, the concept of creativity paves the path of extinction; and when creativity dies, values of civilisation corrode."

With agency inputs