What is the fuss around ‘The Kerala Story’ all about

There have been sharp reactions following the release of the trailer of 'The Kerala Story.'

The story revolves around several women being converted and then sold off as sex slaves to the Islamic State. The numbers have become a subject of debate as the film directed by Sudipto Sen claims that 32,000 women from Kerala were sold off as sex slaves.

Congress leader, Shashi Tharoor took to Twitter and said, "it may be *your* Kerala story. It is not *our* Kerala story."

Leader of the Opposition in Kerala, V D Satheesan, while reacting to the film directed by Vipul Amrutlal Shah called for a ban on the movie slated for a May 5 release. He went on to say that the movie was a Sangh Parivar propaganda and aims at dividing society.

An Intelligence Bureau official tells OneIndia that it is important that one speaks about the problem. Both the Hindus and Christians have raised concerns over conversion by force. There is a documented case by the National Investigation Agency which shows that 24 persons had been radicalised and sent off to join the Islamic State in Afghanistan. In that case, there were several women who were forcibly converted and made to join the Islamic State. All of them are still in Afghanistan and their parents have been reaching out to the government to bring them back. However, the Indian Intelligence has a policy of not letting such persons return to India as they could prove to be more dangerous once back on Indian soil.

In the year 2018, the NIA had detained one Muhammad Riyaz who was accused of forcibly converting his wife. It was alleged that he had attempted to sell her off as a sex slave to the Islamic State. The lady went to the Kerala High Court and complained that her marriage had taken place based on fraudulent documents.

In the year 2012, the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council had reported that there had been 2,668 female victims of forcible conversions. The numbers according to the council were between 2006 and 2009. A panel had been formed and made several recommendations to monitor children's cell phones and computers, so that the parents could be better prepared to fight this problem.

The Islamic State on the other hand which has been facing a hard hit back in Syria and Iraq has adopted a new style to function. It is trying to be relevant in Afghanistan and battle the Taliban. An Intelligence Bureau file from six years back said that the Islamic State would look to rope more Indians into its fold and then recruit them into their Afghanistan module known as the Islamic State Khorasan Province.

When asked why there is no exact number to such cases, another official explained that only a few come forward and report the issue. There are many who stay quiet due to social stigma. In most cases, the people prefer to remain anonymous. This is largely owing to the society and also the threat in most cases, the official explained.