After DD, Catholic church screens 'The Kerala Story' for students amid 'love jihad' row

A church in Kerala recently screened the contentious movie The Kerala Story, directed by Sudipto Sen, for teenagers as part of an "intensive training programme". The Idukki Diocese, under the prominent Syro Malabar Catholic Church, screened the movie for students studying in classes 10, 11, and 12, and asked them to discuss the film and write a review. The church screened the movie after national broadcaster Doordarshan. 

The screening of the movie trigged a massive row, following which the Diocese claimed that the movie was shown to "create awareness about love relationships and its consequences and dangers." Father Jinns Karakkat, the Diocese's media in-charge, said they conduct an intensive training programme for children every year during vacations.  

He added that specific topics are selected for the programme and books are prepared accordingly. "This year, the programme was held on April 2,3, and 4.

The theme of the textbooks prepared for the children of classes 10,11,and 12 was love relationships," news agency PTI quoted the priest as saying. The students who partook in the training programme were also asked to talk about the movie in their WhatsApp groups and collate reviews. 

Father Karakkat said that this movie was selected for screening to spread awareness among students. "Nowadays, there are circumstances in which teenagers are largely falling in love and facing dangers. So, we intended to create awareness among our children about such dangers," the priest mentioned. 

While BJP's K Surendran, who is also the party's Lok Sabha candidate against Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad, said that the movie garnered support from all walks of life. He alleged that hundreds of girls are victims of 'love jihad' and such instances have been reported from various districts including Kannur. 

CPI (M) leader MV Govindan and senior Congress leader VD Satheesan, however, said that the contentious movie was aimed at tarnishing the image of Kerala. Satheesan said that the Congress and the UDF don't agree with any atttempt to humiliate the southern state. 

He said that the UDF would oppose both majority and minority communalism and claimed no political party has taken such a bold stance in Kerala's politics in the last 50 years. Govindan described the movie as being "anti-Kerala, anti-Communist, and anti-Muslim."  "The movie has no value and has no connection with the socio-cultural life of the state. It's a waste movie...made with the investment of the RSS and BJP to tarnish the state," the CPI (M) leader said. 

Directed by Sudipto Sen, The Kerala Story is about a group of women from Kerala who were forced to convert to Islam and join ISIS.