Sorry Raj Thackeray, The Indian Army Does Not Need Extortion Money

MNS extorted Rs 5 crore to an Army fund from those employing Pakistani actors, but faujis don’t want the money.

• MNS demanded that producers of movies employing Pakistani actors pay Rs 5 core to an Army welfare fund.
  
• Senior Army officials and veterans were “upset” over the force being dragged into “politics” over films.
  
• It seems MNS was able to intimidate the film producer to ‘repent’ and accept certain conditions.
  
• I have personally urged the Defence Minister to reject this untenable offer.
  

The controversy generated over the release of the film ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ in Mumbai by a local political party – the MNS – and the reported mediation by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra has dragged the Indian Army into a purely political issue in a manner that can only be described as deplorable and unwarranted.

The release of this film was objected to by the MNS on the grounds that it had some Pakistani actors, and this comment does not seek to re-open that emotive debate. Despite assurances by the Centre and the state Chief Minister that any obstruction to the release of the film would not be condoned – and that the law would take its course – it appears that the MNS was able to intimidate the film producer to ‘repent’ and accept certain conditions.

Is a Film’s Release a Matter of Law and Order?

After the meeting with the CM Fadnavis on Saturday (22 October), Raj Thackeray, the MNS leader stated:

All the producers who have Pakistani artists in their film will as penance have to pay some money. I suggested Rs 5 crore per film… and (to) give the money to the Army welfare fund.

This offer of such ‘extortion’ money to the Indian fauj was met with predictable outrage by the military fraternity and a serving officer summed it up in two words: It stinks.

The validity of a party like the MNS according unto itself the right to allow or prevent the release of a film, is a matter of law and order that the state government has to take a call on – but where a red line has been crossed is the manner in which the ‘welfare’ of the Indian soldier is being dragged into the local politics of Mumbai.

Doesn’t This Deserve More Govt Attention?

Many retired officers have expressed their anguish at this turn of events and I have personally urged the Defence Minister to reject this untenable offer. However, at the time of writing this comment, there is no indication that this matter has received the attention and subsequent rejection that it deserves from the Modi government.

The Indian military, or for that matter the military in any country, seeks the love and respect of its citizens while it carries out the professional duties that devolve upon it. It trains to defend the abiding security interests of the country which is transmuted into national sovereignty and integrity. In the Indian context, it is this intangible ‘izzat’ (honour) of the country and the flag that is protected by the soldier to death – and in turn, it is expected that the country and its citizens will confer the appropriate index of respect – and ‘izzat’ on the fauj as an institution and the fauji as an individual.

(The writer is a leading expert on strategic affairs. He is currently Director, Society for Policy Studies. He can be reached at @theUdayB.)