A FILM highlighting the plight of some Muslims facing the problems of citizenship in Kerala has been praised at a function at Oxford, where the movie was screened. The screening of the film, ‘Pardesi', by noted cultural and political activist from Kerala P T Kunhimohammad was organized by the Muslim Educational Society of Oxford and was attended by several leading academics and scholars here. During the partition of India, thousands of Muslims from Kerala migrated to Pakistan but returned later because of different climate and food there. The Indian government treated them as citizens of Pakistan and tried to deport them after the expiry of their visas. According to the Kerala government, there are over 400 India-born Pakistan passport holders staying in the state. Most of them are in the Malabar districts of Malappuram, Kozhikode and Kannur. Several of them, now in their old age, have been issued orders for deportation to Pakistan. Some of them have obtained a stay from the Kerala High Court. Both the state and central governments are blaming each other for the plight of these ‘Pakistani citizens.' The touching film tells the story of hundreds of people who were left alien in India due to lack of documents to prove themselves and their identity. ‘Pardesi' focuses on the plight of Valiyakathu Moosa, an Indian Muslim who moves from the Malabar region of Kerala, to Karachi, during the British rule in search for a job.
