‘Satluj’ row: Government panel raises UAPA spectre, ‘misuse’ by Pakistan

3 min readNew DelhiJul 12, 2026 04:33 AM IST

Jaswant Singh Khalra biopic ‘Satluj’, starring Diljit Dosanjh. (Image source: Zee5)

IN ITS order recommending the film “Satluj” remain blocked from public access, the government panel has raised the spectre of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act by observing that “Khalistan-related propaganda, foreign-based separatist mobilisation, and hostile information operations are continuing concerns, with multiple pro-Khalistan organisations listed as terrorist organisations under the UAPA framework.”

The film, directed by Honey Trehan, and starring Diljit Dosanjh is based on human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra and shows his death in police custody following his campaign to probe hundreds of disappearances during the militancy years in Punjab. It was pulled from the OTT platform ZEE5 for viewers in India two days after its release on July 3.

The government’s Inter-Departmental Committee (IDC) rested its national security case on two grounds: pro-Khalistan organisations listed under UAPA, and the “misuse” of the film by Pakistan. Its July 9 order records that it “observed that the current security context of Punjab poses an immediate risk of the film becoming a tool for reviving separatist grievance among youth.”

Besides voicing its concerns about Khalistan-based propaganda with multiple pro-Khalistan organisations listed as terrorist organisations under UAPA, the IDC said “the security situation in Punjab is sensitive due to Punjab’s border sensitivity, cross-border propaganda, and foreign-linked extremist ecosystems, thereby increasing the risk of hostile exploitation of emotionally charged content concerning the militancy period.”

The Indian Express first reported on Saturday that the committee had recommended to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry that the film, starring Diljit Dosanjh and based on the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, remain blocked under Section 69A of the IT Act.

The committee also observed that “the film can be used by hostile State/non-State actors to spread a misleading narrative of Sikh oppression by the Indian State, and such misuse by Pakistan has already begun with Pakistan-based actors using the film as evidence of Indian State brutality and oppression of Sikhs with the intent to spread separatist ideology in India.

The order referred to Sikhs For Justice, a pro-Khalistan group that is declared an unlawful association under the UAPA.

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The committee also observed that the film’s “one-sidedness aligns with the structure of pro-Khalistan propaganda claiming that Sikhs have been collectively targeted, the State suppressed truth, international intervention is needed, violence against State figures has a moral context and is justified, and that Punjab’s relationship with India is under question.”

The order also underlined that the film “need not explicitly call for secession if it supplies the emotional and evidentiary building blocks of secessionist propaganda.”

Apurva Vishwanath is the National Legal Editor at The Indian Express, where she leads the organization’s coverage of the Indian judiciary, constitutional law, and public policy. A law graduate with a B.A., LL.B (Hons) from Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Apurva brings over a decade of specialized experience to her reporting. She is an authority on judicial appointments and the Supreme Court Collegium, providing critical analysis of the country’s legal landscape.

Before joining The Indian Express in 2019, she honed her expertise at The Print and Mint.

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