Thiruvanthapuram: Amid the uproar over ‘The Kerala Story 2‘and allegations that the film wrongly portrays Kerala, an analysis by The News Minute has presented claims that contradict the narrative shown in the movie.

In a teaser released by the filmmakers, the film depicts several Hindu women being converted to Islam.

However, TNM’s analysis of Kerala Gazette records shows a different trend.

According to the report, Hinduism has attracted the highest number of converts in the state, followed by Islam and Christianity, offering a data-based view of religious conversion patterns in Kerala.

The plot of the upcoming film ‘The Kerala Story 2’ revolves around a two-decade-old conspiracy theory alleging a jihadist scheme to marry Hindu women and convert them to Islam. The film’s release has been stayed by the Kerala High Court on Thursday, the movie was supposed to release on Friday, February 27.

The first film, released in 2023, claimed that 32,000 women had been converted by jihadists in Kerala. That claim was later questioned by the Supreme Court of India, which pulled up the makers for using fake data.

Despite the premise of the sequel remaining the same, the producers have claimed that this time they spent seven months conducting “research.”

The TNM team stated in its report that for several months they researched religious conversions in Kerala and uncovered what they described as significant facts.

According to the report, Hinduism has been attracting the largest number of converts in the state, more than Christianity or Islam.

An earlier TNM report in the same series had pointed to the existence of a statewide network of Hindutva groups, including the Vishva Hindu Parishad, which focuses on converting Dalits to Hinduism.

The News Minute in its report mentioned that their team went through more than 10,000 pages of the Kerala Gazette and found that 365 Keralites converted to Hinduism between January and December 2024.

Of these, 262 were Dalit Christians and Muslims. The report stated that many among them were induced by the promise of securing Scheduled Caste status after conversion to Hinduism.

Who has converted to which religion ?

According to the published figures in the state gazette, according to The News Minute, conversions to Islam included 276 people who moved from Hinduism to Islam, comprising 154 women and 122 men. In addition, 67 people converted from Christianity to Islam, of whom 42 were women and 25 were men. Taken together, a total of 343 people converted to Islam during the period.

Meanwhile, conversions to Hinduism accounted for 329 people who moved from Christianity to Hinduism, including 180 women and 149 men. Another 36 people converted from Islam to Hinduism, with 24 women and 12 men. In total, 365 people converted to Hinduism.

In Christianity 234 people shifted from Hinduism to Christianity, comprising 130 women and 104 men. A further 21 people converted from Islam to Christianity, including 13 women and 8 men. Altogether, the total number of people who converted to Christianity stood at 255 .

 

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Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.

In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.

Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.

Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.

According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.

He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.

He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.

Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.

He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.

Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.

He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.