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Father, Son, and Holy War

Father, Son, and Holy War
A gigantic red-coloured man with six arms. Upper two arms flexing muscles. Rifle on the middle right hand. Sword on the lower right hand. Staff on the middle left hand. Decapitated head of a man on the lower left hand. Burning houses on the background. Front of the gigantic man is a campfire burning a mourning woman and a dead man.
Film poster
पितृ, पुत्र और धर्मयुद्ध
Directed by Anand Patwardhan
Produced by Anand Patwardhan
Music by Navnirman, Vinay Mahajan
Release date
 1995
Running time
 120 minutes
Country India
Language English, Hindi

Father, Son, and Holy War (Pitra, Putra, aur Dharmayuddha) is a 1995 film by Indian documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan. The film is shot in two parts, with the first (Trial by Fire) examining the link between the violence of the Hindu nationalist movement, such as the demolition of the Babri Masjid, and sexual violence against women. The second part (Hero Pharmacy) looks at the nature of masculinity in contemporary urban India, and its role in encouraging sexual violence. As with other films of his, Patwardhan had to fight multiple court battles in order to force the national carrier Doordarshan to screen the film, a screening which eventually occurred on the orders of the Supreme court. The film received numerous national and international awards, and was also seen positively by critics.

The title of the first section is a reference to the ordeal that the Hindu god-king Rama used to test the fidelity of his wife after rescuing her from the demon king Ravana. The segment describes the various interconnected instances of communal violence in India in the years prior to the film. The film opens with the aftermath of the anti-Muslim riots in Bombay that followed the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992. Several Hindu youth are heard speaking to the cameraman, saying that they had enjoyed the killing and looting, and that a list of Muslim individuals had been prepared beforehand, and that some authority figures knew of the plans to target Muslims.

The film then describes a connection between the Indian nationalist movement and violent masculinity. In a voice-over, Patwardhan states that as a result of the British Raj stereotypes of "effeminate" Hindus and "martial" non-Hindu communities, the nationalist movement turned to militant symbols like Shivaji and Rama. This led to an identification of Hinduism with the traditions of communities with more militant traditions, such as the Rajputs and the Marathas, which included practices like sati. This leads to a description of the murder of Roop Kanwar in Deorala, Rajasthan, in 1987. Kanwar was forced to immolate herself on the funeral pyre of her husband, supposedly in keeping with the tradition of sati, a practice that had been illegal since 1830.


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