IC 814 Controversy: Ministry Of Information And Broadcasting Summon Netflix India's Content Head Over 'Anti-Hindu Agenda'

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has asked Netflix India's content head to appear on Tuesday (3 September) following controversy over the web series 'IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack,' according to ANI sources.

The series portrays the 1999 hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight by Pakistani terrorists but sparked controversy for changing the hijackers' names to 'Shankar' and 'Bhola' to allegedly shield their Muslim identity.

Social media users have employed hashtags like #BoycottNetflix, #BoycottBollywood, and #IC814 to voice their concerns, with one user accusing the show's director, Anubhav Sinha, of "deliberate distortion of facts" and labeling the series as "propaganda."

Historian Hindol Sengupta was particularly vocal in his condemnation, calling the film “pathetic” for what he sees as its glorification of terrorists.

Sengupta argues that the series fails to acknowledge the long-term impact of the terrorists released during the hijacking, diminishing the severity of the real-life events.

Vir Sanghvi, a veteran journalist and commentator often seen as aligned with the left-liberal ecosystem and Congress, echoed these concerns. Sanghvi accused the series of serving as a propaganda piece for the ISI.

He criticised the filmmakers for being naive and misleading, suggesting that the series offers a whitewashed portrayal of an ISI operation while failing to accurately represent the threat posed by the hijackers.

Adding to the debate, Sonam Mahajan, a prominent commentator on India-Pakistan issues, accused Sinha of distorting historical facts to promote an "anti-Hindu agenda."

In defense, Mukesh Chhabra, a well-known casting director, clarified that the terrorists used "nicknames or fake names" when communicating with each other.

The original hijacking involved five terrorists—Ibrahim Athar, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Zahoor Ibrahim, Shahid Akhter, and Sayed Shakir—who seized the IC-814 flight on 24 December 1999, during its journey from Kathmandu to Delhi.

The standoff lasted eight days, with 154 passengers and crew held hostage. It ended with the release of notorious terrorists Masood Azhar, Omar Sheikh, and Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar, who were escorted to Kandahar by then External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh.

The Netflix series is based on the book 'Flight Into Fear: The Captain's Story,' authored by Devi Sharan, the flight's captain, and journalist Srinjoy Chowdhury.