Omission of Sikhs in Cinematic Representations

Two much-applauded cinematic representations omitted Sikh heroes from their narratives. On Netflix, The Railway Men is a competent mini-series based on the Bhopal gas tragedy of December 1984. It weaves in a sequence from the Sikh Genocide wherein a Sikh mother is trying to save her young son and a railway official assists them. The largely historically accurate series brings alive those dastardly times and is critical of state apathy but omits a real-life hero – Lieutenant Colonel Gurcharan Singh Khanuja, who turned off the gas leak and was rendered blind soon after. The new film Sam Bahadur on India’s first Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw is earning good reviews and doing well at the box office. FM Manekshaw was India’s Chief of Army Staff during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. A key aspect of this war was the creation of the Mukti Bahini – a guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary, and civilians. FM Manekshaw tasked one of India’s finest soldiers Major General Shabeg Singh from his hometown Amritsar to train the Mukti Bahini. The well-trained Mukti Bahini largely neutralized the Pakistan Army, easing the job for the Indian armed forces. The movie mentions Mukti Bahini but does not mention Major General Shabeg Singh. Likely because of Major General Shabeg Singh’s later role in fortifying Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) during “Operation Blue Star.” Sam Bahadur is produced by Ronnie Screwvalla’s RSVP movies. IRSVP was also producer of Punjab 95 on human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra who was extrajudicially killed by Panjab police. Punjab 95 has run into considerable trouble with the Indian Censor Board.