India on Tuesday firmly pushed back against China’s criticism of the Bollywood film Battle of Galwan, asserting that artistic freedom and freedom of expression are integral to the country’s democratic framework.
Government sources said filmmakers in India are free to create content under artistic freedom, responding to claims by Chinese state-run media that the Salman Khan-starrer “distorts facts” related to the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes.
India’s Rhetoric Response, ‘Artistic Freedom’
“India is a country with freedom of expression, and cinematic expression is an integral part of it. Filmmakers are free to make films exercising this artistic freedom,” a government source said, adding that the government has no role in the making of the film.
The source further noted that anyone with concerns regarding the film is free to approach the Ministry of Defence for clarifications. Battle of Galwan is based on the June 2020 face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh.
Galwan Film Sparks Row
Salman Khan portrays Colonel Bikkumalla Santosh Babu, the commanding officer of the 16 Bihar Regiment who was killed in action during the brutal hand-to-hand combat. India has officially acknowledged the loss of 20 soldiers in the clash. China, which initially denied casualties, later claimed it lost four troops, a figure widely seen as an undercount.
China’s state-run newspaper Global Times alleged that the film’s portrayal does not align with ‘facts’ and accused Bollywood of exaggeration. The article also falsely claimed that the Galwan Valley lies on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and blamed Indian troops for triggering the clash.
The Galwan incident marked a major escalation in India-China tensions, leading to large-scale military deployments along the LAC and heightened surveillance to counter potential aggression.
