ON March 12, 1993, twelve successive explosions in Bombay shook India’s financial capital and turned the city’s most iconic buildings into rubble.  

Under the ruins, charred and deformed bodies lay, with cries of despair coming from the wounded.  

Although over a hundred people have been convicted so far with four more suspects arrested this year, the main culprits are still at large. 

Anurag Kashyap’s film “Black Friday” tells the inside story and shows the series of horrific events behind it.  

It’s based on the former investigative journalist S. Hussain Zaidi’s book “Black Friday: The True Story of the Bombay Bomb Blasts”.  

The film premiered at the 2004 Locarno International Film Festival, but the Bombay High Court halted its release until two years later. 

Since the inception of the film two decades ago, the communal conflicts represented in the film have not waned.  

In view of today’s thriving right-wing nationalism and heightened religious tensions, the film has lost none of its relevance. 

The serial bombings happened on the 17th day of Ramadan – the day commemorating the triumph of the Prophet Muhammad’s small army over their strong enemy.  

The bomb attacks had apparently been carried out in the name of religion. The film, however, reveals the complexities of the case that could easily be classified as mere “terrorism”. 

Just a few young men placing explosives and throwing grenades did not cause the catastrophe.  

Lurking behind them were powerful crime organisations, corrupt cops and custom officers, a transnational money laundering network, and even brainwashing military training in the neighbouring country. 

The motivations of joining the terror squad vary, though they can be traced back to the riots that took place months ago when some had lost their livelihoods while others witnessed the suffering of their families and friends.  

“Black Friday” takes a trip back in time from the 1993 Bombay bombings to the holy city of Ayodhya in 1992. 

On 6 December that year, a mob of 200,000 hammer-wielding Hindu extremists tore down the centuries-old Babri Masjid and proceeded to destroy Muslim houses and properties. 

During the riots, thousands of Muslims were injured, killed, and sexually assaulted. The attacks against Muslims and the revenge against Hindus are no different. Both are hell on earth. 

There’s a scene in “Black Friday” showing Muslim accomplices discussing where to place the explosives to kill the Hindus. A moment of hesitation occurs.  

They realise many Muslims are living near the target. Therein lies the reality: different religious communities live close to one another and they are interdependent. 

There is no real border between the enemy and us; the blade of ideology cuts across reality in vain.  

This was also the case in the previous riots when the Hindu militants set fire to Muslim residence and eventually also burned down Hindus’ homes nearby. 

Isn’t “collateral damage” a common euphemism for innocent civilian casualties inflicted by military operations?  

The term not only applies to communal conflicts, but also to law enforcement operations.  

Indiscriminate detention and custodial torture seem to be the norm, despite media coverage of police misconduct and human rights violations. 

Women are the most vulnerable. They are subjugated by men in their families, abused during interrogations, and gang-raped in riots.  

In various clashes and confrontations, women are often used as tools to put down and humiliate an opponent.   

The main conspirators of Bombay bombings have long since absconded and they live luxuriously in their foreign mansions until today.  

The rabble-rousing leaders involved in the demolition of Babri Masjid continue to gain political influence by inciting hatred and fuelling conflicts.  

The investigations and trials took years. Even when the case is finally solved, will the wound of a deeply divided society heal?  

Although “Bombay” has been renamed as “Mumbai”, painful memories have not been erased. Violence begets violence. Without truth and reconciliation, history repeats itself. 

“Black Friday” opens and ends with a quote from Gandhi: “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.”  

To make a similar docudrama in Malaysia seems a distant dream. The Film Censorship Board, sedition law, the frailty of religious sentiments, and the domestic market have taught local filmmakers to play it safe.  

For example, narrating the May 13 incidents is still taboo. Even if we close our eyes and turn our ears away from the truth, the trauma remains. – October 24, 2022.  

* Veronica Lim Yi Hui is the Agora Society chairman. She holds a degree in biochemistry and is a PhD candidate in Philosophy. She has great interest in human creative endeavours like films and music. At the same time, she is concerned over the destructive impact of humans on the planet.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.