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Calling it a direct challenge to India's sovereignty, film director Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri said on Thursday that he declined an invitation by the Oxford Union and found the theme of the debate -- 'This House Believes in an Independent State of Kashmir' meaningless.
In a conversation with ANI, he shared, "They invited me and I received many follow-up calls and emails while I was thinking whether I should attend the event or not. I knew this debate would be meaningless if I didn't attend it... Pakistanis were also invited to the debate. The issue is that when Pakistan does not have any stake in Kashmir, then why should anyone listen to their point of view... Even though we have become independent, the colonisers still think we do not deserve this independence. This is why they create narratives all the time to disturb India."
"Oxford Union debates are like an Oscar for filmmakers and authors. There is nothing more prestigious. This does not mean you surrender to untruth," he added.
Elaborating on the reason for declining the invitation, he added, 'The problem is that the motion was that the House believes, first of all, the word 'believes', the House believes that Kashmir is an independent state. How can this question be raised? Because India is a sovereign country. After Article 370 was removed, the question was over. And if you look at the original constitution of Kashmir, then it is written in its preamble that we pledge our integrity with India and something like to sovereignty of India.'
'It is such that I sit in Banaras Hindu University or JNU and debate that Texas should be an independent state or I can say anything about any country. I can say that Wales should be an independent state. I found it very offensive. I felt that today when India is strong, so why is this being done?' he added.
Agnihotri said that he found the theme of the debate 'offensive, anti-India, and anti-Kashmir'.
In a post X, he wrote, 'I was invited by the prestigious Oxford Union to debate on Kashmir. I found the theme offensive, anti-India, and anti-Kashmir. On principle, I have declined the offer. PFA my decline letter.@OxfordUnion.'
He also posted a copy of the invite sent to him by Oxford Union, and a copy of his response declining the invite.
The Kashmir Files director recalled an incident and shared, 'In 2022, Oxford Union invited me to an event which got cancelled a few hours before I reached there. The reason was that a few Pakistani boys protested against it... I am not afraid to debate against anyone but I am against this sinister politics of degrading the image of India.'
Further speaking about the scenario of Kashmir, he shared, 'I had been to Kashmir a few months ago. Kashmir's future is slow, but there is a very strong foundation on which it is standing. Terrorism is also declining sharply. I feel that good days are about to come.'