The Kerala Story | True or Fake? | Dhruv Rathee

Hello friends! Recently a film called The Kerala Story was released, which is being talked about a lot. In this film, it is shown how a secret plot is underway in Kerala, to forcefully convert innocent women to Islam and then they are being sent to IS*S. According to this film and the director of this film, this has been done to approximately 32,000 girls, who are now buried in the deserts of Syria and Yemen. What is the real story behind this? How much truth is in it? Come, let's try to find ou

t in this video. "The Kerala Story" "32,000 girls like me were forced to convert and now they're buried in the deserts of Syria and Yemen." About 100 years ago, Adolf Hitler, the dictator of Germany, wrote a book called Mein Kampf. In this book, he talked about a propaganda technique called Big Lie. Hitler said that to manipulate people, you need to lie so outrageously to make people think that no one can make up such an outrageous lie. To make them think that there must be some truth in it. Whe

n an outrageous lie is told with so much confidence, some people believe it to be true. People think that no one can lie so much. Additionally, another propaganda technique as told by Hitler's propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels. Goebbels said that repetition is also very important here. Keep repeating this big lie again and again. Repeat this big lie so many times that people get to hear the same lie from 4 different sources. By doing this, people become more convinced. A third technique is sa

id to be the Half-Truth. Sometimes, add in some element of truth in your speeches. Because, nowadays, some people can easily identify big liars. When someone says that no one can lie so outrageously all the time, someone might counter that by showing that the speaker is a total fraud. Someone who might've been an Olympic champion had lying been an Olympic sport. For those who are not convinced by the big lies, half truth is supposed to convince them. Why am I telling you all these propaganda tec

hniques? Because in this video you'll see, how these 3 techniques have been used to mislead people. The Kerala Story film's director Sudipto Sen was asked which true incidents inspired this film. He said many things here. First, he said that in 2010, Kerala's former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, he gave a statement in Kerala's Assembly. You can Google this statement and you will see a report from India Today. 2,500 women, Islam, Kerala, Oommen Chandy, seems right. Then it was said that another f

ormer Chief Minister of Kerala, V.S. Achuthanandan had once said that Kerala is going to become an Islamic state in the next 20 years. If you search this on Google and you see this video on YouTube or Twitter. You think, oh, this is also right. Then in the teaser of the film, it is shown that a girl says that she is Fatima and that she is imprisoned in Afghanistan's jail. You search this on Google and you see a news article from The Hindu. Fatima, Afghanistan's jail, Islamic State. Was that righ

t too? Friends, these were some good examples of half-truth. Most people skim through the headlines, and don't go into detail. Let's talk about the first article. This article was published in India Today in 2012. Kerala's former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy informed the state legislature that between 2006 to 2012, 2,667 women converted to Islam. Approximately 2,500 women in 6 years. But the thing to note is did he ever use the term 'forced conversions'? He said that they will not allow any forc

ed conversions in their state and neither will they tolerate hate campaigns against Muslims with accusations of Love Jihad. Was it mentioned anywhere that these converted women were joining IS*S? Not at all. Let's see the second citation. The interview of the former Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan. He was the Chief Minister of Kerala from 2006 to 2011. The video that is being circulated, from back then, was uploaded by Sunshine Pictures. The same company which made this film. First of all, the

y messed with the English subtitles. The words that are being said by him and the subtitles that appear here, are not the same. Secondly, here V.S. Achuthanandan was strongly criticizing PFI saying that the PFI was trying to influence the youth of other religions by paying them to marry Muslim women. IS*S is not mentioned here either. Secondly, it's been 13 years since this statement. Kerala as a state is still as safe and secular as it was 13 years ago. Now let's see the next article from June

2021. This article talks about 4 women from Kerala who went to Afghanistan with their husbands to join the Islamic State of Khorasan Province between 2016 and 2018. Their husbands were killed in various attacks. Their names are Nimisha alias Fathima Isa, Sonia Sebastian alias Ayisha, Merrin Jacob alias Mariyam, and Reffeala. If you look at NIA's list from 2016 of the 20 most wanted Indians in Islamic State you will see the names of these 4 women here. Additionally, there are 2 more women. Ajmala

and Shamasia. Their husbands were cousins. You can see the photos of the husbands of these 6 women here. 3 of these 6 women were already Muslims. 2 converted to Islam from Christianity. And 1 converted to Islam from Hinduism. So, only one of these women was originally Hindu. Her name was Nimisha Nair. Was Nimisha Nair trapped by a Muslim man in a case of love jihad? To find out the answer, let's see who is Nimisha's husband. Eeza. Eeza is a man who converted to Islam from Christianity. His old

name was Bexon Vincent. Bexon's brother, Bestin, also converted to Islam from Christianity. And he too was the husband of one of these 4 women. So, both the brothers and their wives were all converts and brainwashed. Recently, the Indian government denied these four women permission to get back to India. You can watch the video interviews of three of these women of Nimisha, Sonia Sebastian and Reffeala on YouTube online on the YouTube channel StratNews Global. They gave an interview in 2020. And

there you can see how these women looked, how they talked and their behaviour. When there was a caliphate, when I was there I was happy there. I can never say that Khilafa (caliphate) was wrong. That it was wrong. I can't say that because I had a comfortable life here." Anyone watching this video can see how brainwashed and radicalized these women still are. But the main character of the film The Kerala Story constantly tries to evoke sympathy. The helplessness and innocence shown in the film t

here's perhaps not even a glimpse of it in the videos of real life, I want to ask you, will you have sympathy for these real life women? Or will you call them brainwashed idiots? Would you want them to remain in Afghanistan's jail or would you want the Indian government to bring them back to India only to put them in Indian jail? I leave this question to you. Comment below with your opinion. Strategic News Global Report tells us that the 20 people mentioned in the 2016 NIA chargesheet were very

interconnected with each other when it comes to radicalization. 17 of them came from a single district. From Kasaragod district in Kerala. A 2020 report from the Hindustan Times stated that some more people joined later so in total, there were 22 people from Kasaragod. This article in India Today from 2016 states that the trend shows that not only single youths are joining IS*S, but the whole family including husband, wife, and even the children have gone and joined IS*S. It is also mentioned in

the article that most of the IS*S recruits before this were from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana. Not from Kerala. But this Strat News Global Report goes on to say that by 2018, 60 Indians had travelled to Afghanistan. Of which 26 were males, 13 women and 21 children. After knowing all of this, it can be clearly said that there is definitely a problem here. People are being radicalized, brainwashed to join IS*S. New modes of communication have opened up through the internet. In 2019, Union

Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy said that Indian investigators have found that IS*S is using the dark web and encrypted platforms to radicalize people and recruit t3rr*rists. But the question here is how big is this problem? The film said that this has already happened to 32,000 women in Kerala. But let's see the statistics. Vladimir Voronkov, the Undersecretary General of the United Nations Office of Counter Terr*rism. He said that from 110 countries, nearly 40,000 foreign t3

rr*rist fighters went to Syria and Iraq to join the conflict. 40,000 individuals from 110 countries. Another estimate was given by the 2018 study by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalization of King's College, London. 41,490 people from 80 different countries are affiliated with IS*S. 79% of them are men. On the basis of these two reports, we can arrive at an estimate there are around 40,000-42,000 foreign t3rr*rists who have gone to join IS*S from all over the world. So, how many

of them are from India? The Bureau of Counter-Terr*rism of the US published country reports in 2020. It stated that by September 2020, the NIA had investigated 34 cases of t3rr*rism and arrested 160 people related to IS*S in India. Let's see another source for double-checking. Observer Research Foundation published a paper in October 2019. They said that the number of pro-IS*S cases in India between 2014 and 2018 was around 180-200. This estimate of 200 people doesn't include only those people

who actually left India to join IS*S. It also includes those people who spread IS*S propaganda on the internet in India. Let's look at a third source. In 2019, the Indian Home Ministry said that this number was at 155. The next question is that since these are the cases from all over India, How many cases are there in Kerala? Out of the total 180-200 cases, 40 cases are said to be from Kerala. 200 from India and 40 from Kerala. But this number doesn't tell us how many people actually went to joi

n IS*S. Because the number includes all people affiliated with IS*S and people who spread propaganda. How many people actually left India to join IS*S? US Department of State report revealed that there were around 66 known Indian-origin fighters who were affiliated with IS*S as of November 2020. You heard it right, only 66. 2018's Strat News global report also gave a figure close to 60, so both numbers are quite close. Out of these 60, how many were women? Approximately 13 women. How many women

were from Kerala? Only 6 women were from Kerala. Out of these 6, how many women were converted to Islam from other religions? 3 women. Out of these 3, 2 were Christians and only 1 was a Hindu. The events shown in the film happened to 3 women in real life but not in the manner, shown in the film. However, the film claims that this happened to 32,000 women. This is the Big Lie, friends. This lie is so big that if a common man hears it, he will think that even if not 32,000, there must still be som

e truth in it. This must have happened to a few 1,000 women. If not thousands, then it must have happened to hundreds of women. No! Only 3 women. Now some of you might say, whether it's 32,000 or 3, what difference does it make? The story remains the same. What's the problem? There are many problems. First, if instead of 32,000, the meagre number of 3 was used, then the whole concept of the film fails. Saying that there is a secret love jihad conspiracy going on here, to forcibly convert girls a

nd send them to IS*S, and as a result of this conspiracy, only 3 women suffered, then it means that these are individual cases. There is no conspiracy here. Second, to generalize and exaggerate things to this level is simply stupid. If this was done with any other incident you will say that it is utter nonsense. Let me use an example. Over the last few months, there were 3 such cases of an Indian citizen urinating on a co-passenger in an airplane. Now imagine, a country like America or Japan mak

es a film called The India Story and the film shows how Indians always urinate on co-passengers in airplanes. 32,000 such incidents too place where Indians have urinated on someone. How will you feel about it? You will say that it is utter nonsense. That they are trying to defame the country. But if on the other hand, the filmmaker says that 32,000 was an exaggerated number but it did happen thrice, so making the film was justified. What would be your response in that case? Does it make any sens

e? Similarly, the entire state of Kerala is being defamed for 3 individual cases. When the director of the film was asked about it, about the source of the 32,000 number he evaded the questions. While talking to Alt News, he said that only after the release of the film would he share his data based on which he used the number 32,000. He told The Quint that asking such questions doesn't make any difference. "It is very cliched." When the film was screened in JNU, he said that the 32,000 number wa

s an arbitrary number. And when the matter reached the court, he removed 32,000 from the description of the film replacing it with 3. The truth is that the story of these three women was worth telling. Had this story been told without lies and propaganda. Every person who is brainwashed and recruited in IS*S is a potential threat. But how big is this problem in India? If you compare it with other countries, you will find it shocking. In India, as I told you, this number is around 66, the victims

of IS*S propaganda. According to the 2016 data, in the former Soviet republics, there were 7,000 such people. 2,500 people from Russia. 1,700 people in France. 760 people in Germany. The number of victims in the UK was also around 700. The population of all these countries is much less than India. But the number of people who fell victim to IS*S is much higher in these countries. And here, it is also worth noting that India has the 3rd largest Muslim population in the world. So, compared to cou

ntries like France, Germany and UK, more Muslims live in India. But still, fewer IS*S recruits are seen in India. If you look at the ratio here, IS*S recruits per million people, India has a ratio of 0.5 per million. It is 36 times more in France, at 18 per million. Belgium has a ratio of 40 per million and in Jordan, it is 315 per million. Was this mentioned in the film even once? Some people truly enjoy watching a state of their country being defamed based on lies. The ORF report held that aca

demics and experts often ask why did so few Muslims from India join IS*S? There are many factors for this. First, the superb response of the Indian agencies. Very few of you may know about Operation Pigeon. Our agencies like NIA and IB carried out a mission in which they identified 350 vulnerable Malayali youth and ran a de-radicalization program to save our youth from this extremism and radicalization. A great job by our officers. But you know what's shameful? Our Prime Minister, in his electio

n speeches instead of promoting good work, the PM promotes this film of lies. "The film based on t3rr*rist plots The Kerala Story is nowadays is highly talked about." This reminds me of another historic operation by the Indian forces against IS*S. An immensely risky operation on which the film Tiger Zinda Hai was made. If you want to know more about it, I will suggest that you listen to this audiobook on KUKU FM. In case you don't know, KUKU FM is a great audio-learning platform where you will g

et to listen to many such audiobooks. Use the coupon code DHRUV30 to get 30% off on the first month's subscription of KUKU FM. It will cost you only ₹69 instead of ₹99. You will find the link in the description below. And I'm thankful to them for sponsoring this video. And now let's get back to the topic. If Prime Minister Modi wanted, he could have told people about this inspirational story. But no, he had to promote a propaganda film. The second reason as claimed by former diplomat Talmiz Ahma

d, is India's syncretic culture and tradition. The Unity in Diversity in India. Muslims live harmoniously with Hindus and Christians in India. And that's why they rejected extreme ideologies. In 2015, when it was found that only 29 Indians had joined IS*S, a report stated that IS*S itself considered Indian recruits to be inferior. IS*S believed that the Islam practised in India is a very soft version. It is a liberal version of Islam. Third, many Muslim clerics have also played a positive role h

ere. In March 2009, Darul Uloom Deoband issued a fatwa declaring India as Dar al-Aman. A country where militant Jihad is prohibited. Similarly, in 2015, a joint fatwa was issued by 70,000 Indian Muslim scholars against IS*S, Taliban, Al-Qaeda and other t3rr*rist organizations. The real Kerala story here is something to be proud of. Compared to the rest of the world how few Muslims from India joined IS*S. And Kerala is a living example of unity in diversity. People of different religions live tog

ether peacefully. This is the reason why Kerala is the number one state across many indicators. Number one in education, number one in healthcare, number one in human development index. But then our politicians use these fake stories to defame Kerala. In February this year, when Home Minister Amit Shah was campaigning for the elections said in Karnataka that Kerala is right next to Karnataka. Heavily implying on how dangerous Kerala is. Maligning Kerala is not the only propaganda in this film. A

nother Big Lie is Love Jihad. In the film, it is shown that there are forceful religious conversions. What is the truth? In 2017, the Kerala government submitted a list of 90 cases to the NIA to investigate whether there was a Love Jihad angle or not. NIA examined 11 of those cases and concluded in 2018 that although PFI facilitated conversion, but not a single case was found where a person of whatever gender was being forced to convert. If one proof is not enough, look at the other. The Union H

ome Ministry said the same in 2020. In 2020, Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy told Lok Sabha in a written reply that no case of Love Jihad has been reported by any central agency. This conspiracy theory of Love Jihad is a Big Lie told to you using different angles. Politicians use it in their speeches you get these WhatsApp forwards from WhatsApp University talking about Love Jihad And the propaganda news channels use Love Jihad as news. This big lie is repeated so many times th

at people begin to think that there must be some truth in it. The same thing that I said in the beginning. The whole concept of Love Jihad is not only used to defame Muslims, but the concept goes against women. Think about it, people who believe that a woman can be easily manipulated by a man, what kind of people are they? Are women cattle? Doesn't a woman have a brain? Anyone can come and say anything, and women will meekly follow around like cattle. Whether it's a Hindu woman, a Muslim woman,

a Christian woman, or a woman of any other religion. All women should come together to tell their religious leaders to mind their own businesses. Women have brains. If a man tries to forcefully convert a woman, she can go to the police. And the law states that if someone tries to forcefully convert another person, he will have to go to jail. But the question is, how many people are being converted in India? Sometimes some Christian missionaries, or these Hindu priests or Muslim clerics become a

little overactive in their preaching and the balance shifts a bit. Like this 2016 news article, where the leader of Vishwa Hindu Parishad said that their organization has converted 750,000 people back to Hinduism in 10 years. But if these religious leaders from different religions don't interfere, and people want to convert of their own will, then you get to see a balance. Look at the April 2021 report. 506 people registered that they want to change their religion with the Kerala government. 47%

of these people converted from Christianity or Islam to Hinduism. So it's not like we are seeing more conversions to one religion. 2021 survey by the Pew Research Center showed the same thing. More than 30,000 people were surveyed and it was found that only 0.7% of people left Hinduism and adopted other religions. And 0.8% of people left other religions and adopted Hinduism. We need to understand that merely for some political power, a very dirty game is being played here. Big lies are being pr

opagated, conspiracy theories are being developed so that Hindus, Muslims, and Christians can be provoked into fighting each other. Some political parties benefit a lot if people are filled with hatred for people from other religions. In the beginning, it was only WhatsApp forwards, then the propaganda-enabling media started doing this. And now, propaganda films are being made to mislead people. 100 years ago, this used to happen during Hitler's rule as well. Many propaganda films were made. Man

y such films which distorted history of their own will, defamed Jews and glorified German Aryans. Such big lies were propagated in those films. They were repeated to convince people. In the greed for power and money these people are trying to break the country from inside out. They who spread so much vile hatred should remember one thing, it is possible that they be successful in spreading fear, violence and hatred. But they need to remember that this country has gone through a lot. Whenever any

power tried to divide the country, the people of the country came together and bounced back. At last, I'd like to say that If you want to watch a film on this topic, watch this Swedish TV series on Netflix, The Caliphate. No one has been defamed in that film, no lies or propaganda has been spread. In fact, it tells a true story of how IS*S recruited some young girls in Sweden. It's a thrilling show. And thank you very much!