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Mohenjo Daro film-makers must apologise for distorting facts, says minister

Mohenjo Daro film-makers must apologise for distorting facts, says minister

The film is "a mockery of highly developed culture of the 5000-year-old civilisation", he says
05 Sep, 2016

THATTA: Sindh Minister for Culture, Tourism and Antiquities Sardar Ali Shah has strongly reacted to the much hyped Indian movie Mohenjo Daro and said the film’s director should tender apologies to Sindhi nation for distorting historical facts and making a mockery of highly developed culture of the 5000-year-old civilisation.

Talking to journalists during a visit to Makli necropolis on Sunday, the minister said that he would soon communicate Sindh’s reaction and objections to the director concerned.

He said the movie depicted what it named Harappa War and recovery of levy which were nothing but figments of imagination of filmmakers and had nothing to do with history of Moenjodaro.

He said the world had widely acknowledged the importance of the heritage sites of Sindh, which was evident from the fact that Makli necropolis and Moenjodaro had been included in the list of international heritage sites and UNESCO was caring for them in coordination with the government.

About a recent UNESCO meeting attended by the representatives of world heritage sites at Turkey, he said that efforts were being made to meet requirements and address reservations of UNESCO over Makli necropolis so as to save the heritage site from getting delisted from the world heritage sites.

He called growing encroachments within territorial limits of Makli necropolis by land mafia a failure and result of lack of interest on part of the archeology department and said political issues were also behind it.

Mr Shah warned that if any harm came to democracy PML-N head Nawaz Sharif would be responsible for it because he was running the country like his personal fiefdom. He could have created a good precedent by coming clean about Panama leaks issue but he did not further muddled the issue by dragging his feet over the issue, he said.

He said the Pakistan Peoples Party would never allow democracy to be derailed and would never help any dictator to intrude into power corridors and harm democracy which had been achieved after great sacrifices.

UNESCO representative Ayaz Qazi, Thatta deputy commissioner Tahir Sangi, Makli curator Irshad Ridd and a number of leaders of public opinion accompanied the minister on his visit.

Later, the minister attended a tea party hosted by the chairman-elect of Thatta district council, Ghulam Qadir Palijo and visited Shahjehan mosque, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Cultural Complex, Doolah Darya Khan park and museum.

Originally published in Dawn, September 5th, 2016

Comments

munsif Sep 05, 2016 09:32am
a movie has to take some thrills and suspense in it, if these were the figments of the imagination of film makers, so what they should have shown, just people walking in the streets of moen jo daro,
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VIKI Sep 05, 2016 10:23am
May I humbly suggest that it’s just a film, and there is always a note in the beginning of the film stating few important things which we never focus. Like other films this also has been made for I guess two purposes which is entertainment and financial profits, but unfortunately we take it too seriously
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May Sep 05, 2016 10:24am
First, sort out the distortion of History in your textbooks then worry about movies.
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Ajay Vikram Singh Sep 05, 2016 10:47am
First minister himself should get some education. The of Indus valley civilization was 8000-12,000 years old. And the time line is going back and back in the time with every discovery.
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Dipak Singham Sep 05, 2016 10:48am
I watched yesterday this movie its Nice & beautiful movie, I enjoyed a lot, it's entertaining & people shouldn't relate to original History of Mohenjodaro civilization, it is just a movie to watch for entertainment not a History book.
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Haider Sep 05, 2016 11:13am
What!??? A Bollywood movie not portraying History accurately? How is that even possible
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ripan Sep 05, 2016 11:54am
Harappa mohenjodaro is our culture,our past..every Indian has a right to depict his imagination
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Dipak Singham Sep 05, 2016 02:44pm
@Haider No one knows in the world what was Happen 5000 years before in Mohenjodaro & Harappa. It is only a film for entertainment. you didn't read the caption written before the film begin or you are uneducated.
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basil Sep 05, 2016 03:25pm
@May Before advising other, it would be better if you stop distorting facts and stop spreading hatred for your neighbors.
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Iftikhar Husain Sep 05, 2016 04:11pm
Interesting vision by the minister the site is very very old and the people who lived there are thr fore fathers of present Sindh they have full right to object.
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Lockhorn Sep 06, 2016 02:09am
Thank you Minister! Please ask all Bollywood movie directors to showcase reality and not distort facts. And while you are it, please do the same with Hollywood and Lollywood!
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Sufi Sep 06, 2016 02:24am
@ripan wrong pal its part of Pakistan culture and heritage. Ask the people of sindh.
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Masood Hussain Sep 06, 2016 03:52am
We don't know how much the Hon'ble minister is qualified to criticise the film
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Sumit Mazumdar Sep 06, 2016 07:35am
@Ajay Vikram Singh You need to get acquainted with real history and not myths. Agriculture, which originated in Mesopotemia (todays Iraq) and perhaps independently in China where there might have been rice cultivation, is no more than 7000-8000 yrs old. There were no settled societies before that. Humans were hunter-gatherers prior to agro societies. Harappa civilization goes no further back than about 3000 BCE, which is alreayd plenty old (contemporary with Egyptian civilization).
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Imran Ahmed Sep 06, 2016 10:24am
Mr Shah's objections are ridiculous. This is an ancient period for which we have no written records in this area, whatever plot is followed in a movie made of that period, will have to be imaginary.
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Feroze Sep 06, 2016 01:13pm
Just another example of where imagination takes over reality. Poorly researched projects are destined to be of this level. Pakistan govt should have taken the initiative and invited the director to visit the actual sites and museums to witness the realities himself ! not everything is on papers, alot has been left for people to understand themselves.
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dumpukhat Sep 08, 2016 03:41pm
Mohenjodaro is not the real name, its a sindhi word موئن جو دڙو means Mound of dead. movie makers should have called it by its historcal name if known
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Rkhan Sep 09, 2016 06:11pm
Researchers are of the opinion that Mohenjo Daro was destroyed as a result of alien's nuclear invasion as the discovery of at least one human skeleton in the area was with a level of radioactivity approximately 50 times greater than it should be due to natural radiation. Archeologist Davenport claimed that what was found at Mohenjo Daro corresponded exactly to what was seen at Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Wallahu Aalam:/
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Ajay Vikram Singh Sep 10, 2016 11:42am
@Sumit Mazumdar - Well, I guess you dont keep yourself updated with latest discoveries. Read about Mehrgarh near the Bolan Pass of Balochistan, Pakistan, west of the Indus River valley. Its dated to be 7000 BCE. It was a settled society with agriculture and ceramic pottery. Problem is dividing the same continuous civilization, that was scattered across south asia to Egypt, on river banks, in to regional entities. If you study the languages and ancient history of these places, they all seem to be sprang up from a same root civilization. Arguably, Indus valley was just an indian branch of it.
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