Web series 'Grahan' faces backlash ahead of its premiere; members of Sikh community demand ban

Web series 'Grahan', which is scheduled to premiere on June 24, has offendedsome members of the Sikh community.

President of the ShiromaniGurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Bibi Jagir Kaur, on Monday demanded an immediate ban on the show which is based on the incidents of 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi. The show is scheduled to premiere on Disney+Hotstar platform on June 24.

SGPC is considered the top body in the Sikh community which is responsible for the management of gurdwaras, Sikh places of worship in India.

Kaur has demanded the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to put an immediate ban on the series.

Addressing the media in Amritsar on Monday, Kaur said, "A Sikh character has been portrayed in an objectionable manner in a web series called 'Grahan' based on the 1984 Sikh genocide. In the web series, the charge of Sikh genocide is being levelled against a Sikh character which is highly condemnable and fabricated."

"A legal notice has been sent by a witness of the genocide Nirpreet Kaur to Ajay G Rai, producer of 'Grahan' web series and Sunil Ryan, head and president of Disney+Hotstar. The SGPC also supports this notice," she said.

"Through this web series, work is being done to rub salt on the wounds of Sikhs which would hurt the Sikh sentiments. Such films also hurt the communal harmony in society. Therefore, the government should enact strict Information Technology (IT) rules to curb such sensitive and objectionable trends," Kaur further added.

Kaur also asked the Centre to include members of the Sikh community in the Censor Board in order to check content related to the community in films and shows.

On Wednesday, #BanGrahanWebseries trended on Twitter, as several members of the Sikh community asked for a ban on the show ahead of its premiere.

The President of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management committee, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, also objected to the show.

Sirsa tweeted: "In Webseries #Grahan, charge of 1984 genocide is being levelled against a Sikh. Such portrayal is unethical & rubs salt on our wounds. We demand Ajay G Rai, producer of 'Grahan' & Sunil Ryan, head of @DisneyPlusHS to come clean with their agenda of showing false information @ANi"

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The show premieres on Disney+Hotstar on June 24 and features Pawan Malhotra, Zoya Hussain, Wamiqa Gabbi and Anshuman Pushkar in the lead roles.