Satluj | Pakistan

In South Asia, the state has often existed in tension with society, asserting control not only over governance but also over history, memory, and legitimacy, while society is forced to negotiate or submit to official narratives. Rather than reinforcing one another, the political and social spheres frequently become antagonistic, with the imperatives of postcolonial state-building overriding justice, dissent, and collective memory. It is against this backdrop that Satluj, inspired by the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, assumes significance beyond cinema as an effort to reclaim a contested history. Its removal from ZEE5 only two days after its July 2026 release in India highlights the persistent struggle over who has the authority to narrate the past and whether censorship can erase, or merely delay, historical memory. Originally produced as Punjab 95, Honey Trehan’s film traces Khalra’s investigation into enforced disappearances and illegal cremations during Punjab’s insurgency, a pursuit t...