Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee President Majinder S Sirsa has sent a legal notice to Amazon Seller Services and the directors of Patal Lok web series Avinash Arun and Prosit Roy for allegedly portraying Sikhs as rapists. Taking to Twitter, DSGMC President Majinder S Sirsa posted the legal notice on behalf of DSGMC alleging that the controversial series is maligning the image of the community.
We have sent a legal notice to Amazon & directors Mr Avinash Arun and Mr Prosit Roy for hurting the sentiments of Sikhs by showing Sikhs as rapists through their controversial serial #PatalLok@PrimeVideoIN @amazonIN @AnushkaSharma @prosit_roy @ANI @republic @thetribunechd pic.twitter.com/qbFnz0a4qv
— Manjinder S Sirsa (@mssirsa) May 29, 2020
The notice alleges that the series named “Patal Lok” streaming on Amazon Prime has broadcasted a scene that is portraying the Sikhs as rapists. As per the notice, there is a scene in one of the episodes in which a Sikh man is raping an elderly woman in the presence of many other community members including her husband and father-in-law. The notice alleges that the scene of Patal Lok is clearly depicting the illegal, unlawful, and abuse of the religious culture and faith that is being broadcasted by Amazon prime. The rape scene is not only derogatory but has caused resentment in the whole Sikh community.
Majinder Sirsa mentioned in the notice that Sikh history has recorded the role of women, portraying them as equal to men in service, devotion, sacrifice, and bravery. The Sikh tradition has witnessed examples of women’s moral dignity, service, and self-sacrifice.
The notice mentions that such disrespect and contempt will not be tolerated. The DSGMC has demanded an unconditional apology and a guarantee that they will refrain from indulging in creating such maligning content that is hurting religious sentiment. The directors of the series and officials of Amazon prime are called for their presence within 3 days of the receipt of the notice.
They have been asked to remove the rape scene within 24 hours and call back all the advertisements featuring the derogatory scene, the notice said.
Patal lok accused of morphing image of Yogi Adityanath and others to show corrupt character
Earlier BJP MLA Nandkishor Gurjar had accused that his photo was showed in an episode without his permission. Gurjar demanded that a case should be filed against Anushka under National Security Act, for causing a communal stir.
Besides, the BJP MLA from Ghaziabad also mentioned in his complaint that the show is allegedly offending all communities of the Sanatan Dharma and showing Indian investigating agencies in a bad light. Seeking a ban on the web series the MLA had accused the makers of anti-nationalism. He also argued that it shows Gurjars as dacoits and people associated with malpractices.
The BJP MLA Nandkishore Gurjar has claimed that the makers of the series have taken a real image of a news article when UP CM Yogi Adityanath had inaugurated a highway project and had used it by morphing some faces, insinuating that the project was a scam.
Gurjar claimed that his photo and that of some other leaders were used in the web series as it is. He also shared the original picture in which Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath can be seen too. He claimed it was an act to portray the party in a bad light.
All Arunachal Pradesh Gorkha Youth Association complained against Patal Lok
Prior to this, the series had managed to miff the Gorkha communities which had filed a complaint with NHRC against Anushka Sharma for ‘racial stereotyping’ in ‘Patal Lok’. On May 18, the All Arunachal Pradesh Gorkha Youth Association took to Facebook to share a screengrab of their complaint along with a caption detailing how the alleged sexist and racial slur malign their identity.
Additionally, the youth wing of the Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh- Bharatiya Yuva Gorkha Parisangh, had also started an online campaign against the web series, alleging that in the second episode, a Nepali-speaking woman had been maligned by the maker and had demanded that the slur to be muted, subtitles blurred and that the video is uploaded with an apology.
