Canada-based pro-Khalistani organization distributes ‘Sadda Haq’

Saturday, 13/04/2013

http://punjabnewsline.com/news/Canada_based-pro_Khalistani-organization-distributes-___Sadda-Haq___.html

TORONTO/CHANDIGARH: Punjabi film ‘Sadda Haq’, which revolves around militancy era in Punjab and has been banned by the state government ‘to maintain communal harmony’, is being promoted and distributed in Canada by Canadian Sikh Coalition, a pro-Khalistani organization.

This, when makers of the film have claimed that it is a balanced movie, which does not further any particular ideology or movement. The Canadian Sikh Coalition, however, is batting for the film not only on its official website but also on its Facebook page where it projects itself as a ‘political organization.’

On March 1, its official website uploaded a post, which began with: “The Canadian Sikh Coalition is proud to announce that it has formed a partnership with the team behind the film ‘Sadda Haq’ and will be the official distributor for the film in Canada. The film is a revealing and truthful account of the period of militancy in Punjab that spanned the 1980s and 1990s. It brings forward the conditions of the Punjab and its population and role of the central government in orchestrating what would be a genocidal campaign against the Sikh population.”

While criticizing the Censor Board ban on the film, the post stated that as per Canadian Sikh Coalition director Parvkar Singh Dulai, “watching this film brings another element into the struggle for sovereignty within the Sikh community.”

It added: “...It is more important than ever for the Sikh community to find creative and diplomatic means to pursue its freedoms and independence from the Indian Union as every aspect of life, including the most basic liberties that are guaranteed to every human being, are at the discretion of discriminatory elitists within the Indian Union. The film ‘Sada Haq’ will be a strong introduction into what will hopefully become a worldwide educational and informational platform that the Sikh community can use to further their aspirations.”

Producer, writer and lead actor in the film Kuljinder Singh Sidhu claimed that earlier, a contract for film distribution was signed with Canadian Sikh Coalition but it was later ‘cancelled.’ “Our official distributor for the film is Sunny Sidhu. We had signed a contract with Canadian Sikh Coalition earlier when film’s co-producer, Dinesh Sood, was looking for distributors in Canada. But Coalition failed to commit the minimum guarantee and Sunny Sidhu was chosen as the distributor for the film,” Sidhu said.