In view of maintaining law and order during the screening of the recent blockbuster film The Kashmir Files, the administration in Kota, Rajasthan has imposed prohibitory orders of section 144 for a month from March 22 to April 21.

“Section 144 will be imposed in Kota from tomorrow, March 22, till April 21, in view of maintaining law & order with the screening of ‘The Kashmir Files’,” said Kota District Collector & District Magistrate via a notification. The order directs that there should be no crowd gathering for watching the movie and also directs the upcoming local festival to be ceremonial with no physical dips in any waterbody.

Ex-Kota BJP MLA Prahlad Gunjal said that The Kashmir Files was just an excuse being used as hogwash to stop people from participating in a protest march organized on the 22nd by him against the increasing crimes against women in the state.

Section 144 is imposed to prevent large gatherings or protests with the executive magistrate having the power to impose them in case of an emergency situation, violation of the same can result in a maximum of 3 years in jail.

The Kashmir Files is a movie on the genocide and the final ethnic cleansing of the Kashmiri Hindus which took place in the 1990s in Kashmir. While denying the holocaust is a crime in some countries, it is interesting to note that the world's largest democracy is curbing a movie based on the Kashmiri Pandit genocide. This will surely affect the rankings of India in the democratic index which already is abysmally low.

Despite all the odds, the movie is a hit with it recording a box office collection of nearly 200cr and growing fast.