Cinema as a Weapon: Distorting the Eelam Tamil Narrative in the Name of Nationalism

President Nila
Apr 16, 2025
3 min read

Cinematic Sabotage - How the Film Jaat Distorts Tamil Eelam History and Fuels Anti-Hindu Narratives.

The recently released Hindi film Jaat, promoted as a nationalist action thriller, does more than just dramatize. It deliberately distorts the historical truth of Tamil Eelam’s resistance, subtly attacks Tamil Hindu identity, and cleverly manipulates names and narratives to serve deeper political interests.

The Problem with the Name “Muthuvel Karikalan”

One of the most disturbing creative choices in the film is the use of the name “Muthuvel Karikalan” for the antagonist. This is not an innocent coincidence. It unmistakably echoes Muthuvel Karunanidhi, the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and a major figure in the Dravidian political movement. While Karunanidhi was not a Hindu leader, his name is symbolic in Tamil Nadu politics.

By linking a name so politically loaded to a character framed as a violent terrorist, the film makers are planting subliminal associations that attack the legacy of Tamil political identity — especially in the context of the Tamil Eelam liberation struggle. This is a deliberate narrative distortion, not random fiction.

The Real LTTE Naming Structure — Historically Accurate and Hindu-Rooted

As someone deeply familiar with the Tamil Eelam movement, I must assert the truth:

The LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) never used Sinhala names such as “Ranathunga” for their fighters.

Most LTTE cadres did not speak Sinhala, and carrying a Sinhala alias would have immediately revealed them during covert operations.

Before 1989, some fighters temporarily used Christian names or Sri Lankan Moor aliases for security reasons — particularly for infiltration.

But by 1990, the organization had a solidified Tamil Hindu identity, and almost all aliases were firmly Tamil names.

So why does this film falsely portray Tamil militants with Sinhala-sounding names? This is not just careless — it’s a calculated erasure and replacement of Tamil identity with confusion and propaganda.

Why This Is Anti-Hindu and Politically Alarming

Tamil Eelam fighters — over 95% of whom were Hindus — were not terrorists. They were resistance fighters responding to decades of ethnic cleansing, displacement, rape, and genocide under a Sinhala-Buddhist supremacist regime.

By injecting non-Hindu names, misrepresenting cultural roots, and dragging Eelam Tamils into mainland India's internal political rivalries (such as Tamil Nadu vs. Andhra Pradesh), the film presents an anti-Hindu, anti-Tamil, and pro-establishment narrative that conveniently ignores the genocidal violence of the Sri Lankan state.

This type of misrepresentation:

Weakens India’s moral voice in regional peacekeeping;

Supports China and Sri Lanka’s joint strategy in the Indian Ocean region by discrediting Tamil resistance;

Pollutes India’s internal politics with deliberate confusion between Tamil identity, terrorism, and Dravidian politics.

Geopolitical Warning: A Tool for External Influence

In today’s rapidly changing geopolitical landscape, every movie, news story, and symbol is part of a broader information war. With China’s expanding footprint in Sri Lanka — especially near ports like Hambantota — and India’s strategic insecurity in Tamil Nadu and the Bay of Bengal, such films can serve foreign interests by blurring lines between fact and fiction. The voluntary connection between Indian mainland politics and Eelam Tamils, especially in such distorted portrayals, is not just historically false — it’s dangerously suspicious.

A Wake-Up Call to Indian Nationalists

I write this not to blame the Indian government or BJP, but to urge nationalist leaders to be alert. Films like Jaat should not be allowed to misrepresent India’s neighbors or its own historical allies — especially those who fought for cultural survival under brutal circumstances.

Let us not forget: Eelam Tamils are deeply rooted Hindus, deeply rooted Tamil speakers, and natural cultural allies of India — not tools for political thrillers or enemy narratives.

Conclusion

Fiction is powerful. But when fiction rewrites history to serve propaganda — whether domestic or foreign — it becomes a weapon of disinformation.

It is time for Indian thinkers, journalists, and defenders of democracy to call out narrative terrorism — whether it comes from a gun or a screenplay.

Author:

Balananthini Balasubramaniam (Nila Bala)

Freelance Journalist, Researcher on Human Rights & Geopolitics

Founder, Small Drops

Dedicated to Truth, History, and Tamil Hindu identity.

20:31

15/04/2025

United Kingdom

By Balananthini Balasubramaniam

(Disclaimer: Images are AI generated and are used for representational purposes only)

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