The story so far: On July 3, the film Satluj, earlier titled Punjab‘95 , was removed from the by ZEE5 OTT (over-the-top) platform soon after it was premiered. The film narrates the life story of activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, who worked towards uncovering alleged extrajudicial cremations in Punjab in the traumatic phase of terrorism between the mid-1980s and early-1990s in the State. Even as no official blocking order has been made public, reports have suggested that a Union government-appointed committee is examining the film under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act. The film, directed by Honey Trehan and starring Diljit Dosanjh, premiered after years of delays over a certification dispute with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). However, within two days, the platform removed the film from its India catalogue while continuing to stream it internationally throughZEE5 Global.

As the controversy surrounding the film and its removal continued unabated, political organisations, youth outfits and religious bodies have been organising public screenings of the film in villages and towns of Punjab. Announcing that it will screen the film in villages, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), asserted that the aim was to ensure that youngsters should know about the repression against Jaswant Singh Khalra and the killings of thousands of Sikh youth. SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal noted that this film presents the agony of Punjab during that phase. “And now, the Punjabis, especially the Sikhs, are being stopped from recalling and recording that era in the form of history. The SAD will never remain a mute witness to this injustice,” he said.