After Madhya Pradesh, The Sabarmati Report declared tax-free in Chhattisgarh

Hindi film The Sabarmati Report, based on the 2002 Godhra train burning incident in Gujarat, was on Tuesday (November 19) declared tax-free in Chhattisgarh by the state’s BJP government.

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai announced that The Sabarmati Report, in which actor Vikrant Massey played the role of a journalist, will be tax-free in the state, meaning the Bollywood film has been given exemption from entertainment levy.

Chhattisgarh has become the second BJP-ruled state, after Madhya Pradesh, to give tax-free status to the film, helmed by Dheeraj Sarna, which hit theatres on November 15. On February 27, 2002, 59 people, mostly karsevaks, were killed when the S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express was set afire near Godhra station, triggering widespread riots in Gujarat.

“In this film, an attempt has been made to show the truth of the story of the train incident that happened in Godhra, Gujarat 22 years ago,” a statement issued by the state’s public relations department said. The film should also be watched because the study of the past can give us better guidance about the present and the future, Sai said in the statement.

The Hindi movie is a highly commendable and effective effort to expose the horrific truth of history which vested interests tried to hide. It exposes the truth of the then existing system, which made a reprehensible attempt to suppress the truth by spreading false narratives, he noted. “The film depicts the painful incident with sensitivity,” the CM maintained.

Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was Gujarat CM at the time of the horrific incident, said a fake narrative can persist only for a limited period of time, while referring to The Sabarmati Report. Modi made the comments on social media platform X, reacting to a user’s post praising the movie for “bringing out the important truth of one of the most shameful events in our recent history”.