Why are masked men shouting ‘down with India’ in cinemas?

On Sunday night a screening of the controversial Bollywood film Emergency was disrupted in Vue cinema in Harrow, West London, when a group of 30 masked men barged in and started shouting ‘down with India’. Most viewers left the screening, with one eyewitness describing the behaviour as a ‘frightening and intimidating experience’. Censorship of Emergency has extended to other parts of the country too, with screenings cancelled in places like Wolverhampton and Birmingham.

A video of the unruly behaviour Harrow shows the group shouting ‘Khalistan zindabad’, or ‘long live Khalistan’ (Khalistan is the would-be name for a conceptual Sikh homeland). A woman confronting the group responds with ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ – which translates to ‘victory to Mother India’. This brief but illuminating exchange indicates the protestors are supporters of the pro-Khalistan movement, and the woman a pro-India patriot. But what is it about Emergency that has created tension and resulted in censorship?

For a start, the film has been directed (and starred in) by the right-leaning Bollywood actress-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut, of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).