image source, @officialjiostudios
image caption, The teaser of Ajay Devgan’s Chauhan was released recently.….IN
It was a cold afternoon in November 2018. Protests continued in Kapran area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district. At the same time, 18-month-old Hiba Jaan was sitting on her mother’s lap.
Clashes began between security forces and protesters. Tear gas smoke began to fill the house, making it difficult for little Hiba to breathe.
As soon as his mother opened the door of the house to get some fresh air, an air gun bullet fired from outside hit the inside. Many small pieces of metal flew out of him, severely damaging Hiba’s right eye.
Doctors operated and removed the shrapnel, but they could not guarantee whether Hiba would ever be able to see as well as before.
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Photos of Hiba blindfolded made headlines in newspapers and TV channels around the world. Hiba became the face of the “machine gun crisis” that was happening in Jammu and Kashmir at that time.
But now, nearly eight years later, photos of Hiba and hundreds of others injured by gunfire have again gone viral on social media.
The only difference is that this time the occasion is not some kind of demonstration or military operation, but a teaser of a recent Bollywood film.
Recently, the teaser of Bollywood actor Ajay Devgan’s new film Chauhan was released, following which there was anger in Jammu and Kashmir.
What’s in the teaser?
image source, @officialjiostudios
image caption, The use of firearms began in Jammu and Kashmir in 2010 to control protesters.
The movie trailer starts like this.
“Major, there were 300 boys in the square, but only 270 made it home. That means there are 30 less boys.”
After this, Ajay Devgan’s voice is heard: “It’s not our mistake. There was an order from above that we must answer brick with stone. But if the person in front picks up a stone, what will be his answer?”
In this two-minute and 24-second teaser, Ajay Devgan’s character describes various methods of crowd control as ineffective. Tear gas masks can be purchased online, he said. “Pelen” cannons – limited damage, water cannons – temporary solutions.”
For many Kashmiris, the talk of “machine gun – limited damage” has become a source of anger and pain. The old wounds of those who were previously shot at by security forces with machine guns have turned green again.
The use of firearms began in Jammu and Kashmir in 2010 to control protesters. Officials initially described it as a “non-lethal” weapon. But because of its use, hundreds of people were injured, many people lost their sight, and many became permanently disabled.
A cartridge fired from a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun fires hundreds of extremely small metal pellets that scatter randomly over a large area. Human rights organizations, doctors and even some police officers have admitted that it is impossible to control the direction of these pellets after firing.
“Nothing is forbidden”
image caption, Insha Mushtaq lost sight in both eyes due to shrapnel wounds (photo from the archive of 2016)
Insha Mushtaq Lone was also a victim of gunfire.
In July 2016, 14-year-old Insha was shot by an air pistol during protests following the death of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.
Three days after Burhan’s death, Vani Insha looked out of the window of her house to see what was happening in the area. He had no idea that he would have to pay such a high price to look out the window. A few moments later, dozens of pellets flew into his face.
More than a hundred metal fragments entered his body and eyes. His front teeth were broken. When he regained consciousness in the hospital, both his eyes were bandaged.
Amid several incidents in Jammu and Kashmir, there was a sharp reaction to the teaser of Ajay Devgn’s film as the shotgun effect was described as negligible and limited.
Local Kashmiri youth Omar Mukhtar told BBC Urdu: “For those of us who witnessed first-hand the horrific events of 2017, ‘damage limited’ is not just a lie, but a mockery of a trauma that has affected an entire generation.”
He said, “I don’t need a movie script to know what a shotgun does. I saw it with my own eyes.”
Umair Ashraf, another young Kashmiri, also said, “The violence during that period was not limited to the streets, it even reached hospitals. The hospital wards were so filled with tear gas that even the patients admitted there were seriously injured. This was by no means a ‘limited loss’, it was a human tragedy.”
Commenting on the film’s teaser, he said, “When Bollywood trivializes or distorts such incidents, it increases the pain of the victims and denies the truth.”
“If cinema cannot honestly tell our stories, then at least it should not turn our wounds into a source of entertainment and should not rub salt on them.”
On social media, not only Kashmiris but also people from different walks of life expressed disappointment and anger over the teaser.
image source, Aarabu Ahmad Sultan
image caption, The then Chief Minister Mabuba Mufti told the House that between 2016 and February 2017, 6,221 people were injured by gunfire.
Hindu deputy editor Vijaita Singh raised questions about the film and wrote on X: “It has now become a cliché to call every Kashmiri a Pathan when Kashmiris are not Pathans.”
He wrote, “The same BJP government also introduced a general amnesty package for these youth. Efforts were also made at that time to reach out to people and restore trust. Then what is the purpose of such publicity? What happened was very tragic. Many people have lost their sight and after 2016-2017 the government also changed its strategy regarding the use of firearms against protesters.”
Tenzing Lamsang, editor of the Bhutanese newspaper The Bhutanese, wrote:
Government data also shows the severity of these injuries.
According to data presented in the Indian Parliament, 17 people died from firearm injuries between July 2016 and August 2017.
According to the Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission, 1,726 people were injured by firearms in 2016 alone.
In 2018, then Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti told the Assembly that between July 2016 and February 2017, 6,221 people were injured by firearms, of which 728 had their eyesight damaged.
According to medical research, the damage caused by these injuries is “extensive and usually irreversible.”
The study, published in the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, looked at 777 patients admitted to a hospital in Srinagar after the 2016 protests.
Researchers found that despite surgery, many patients were unable to regain their vision.
More than half of the patients in this study were between 20 and 29 years of age, and more than a third of the patients were boys between 10 and 19 years of age.
Doctors have recorded cases of shrapnel wounds even in children as young as six years old. Photos of injured children have become a symbol of the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Life changed forever”
image source, Aarabu Ahmad Sultan
image caption, Many people have lost their sight due to the use of firearms.
Young Aamir Dar, a victim of an air pistol, is still living with its consequences.
When he returned from Burhan Wani’s funeral in July 2016, he had powder in both his eyes. The vision in one eye was completely lost, and the vision in the other eye was also severely affected.
In April 2018, Arshad Ahmed Khan was sitting outside a shop in the Sur area of Srinagar. At this time, clashes began and he was injured.
Recalling that day, he says: “I wish I had died that day. It ruined my life.”
The palette severely damaged his optic nerve, causing him to permanently lose his sight.
Arshad Khan says that the shotgun destroyed not only him, but his entire family. After months of concern about his condition, his mother died of a cerebral hemorrhage. Three months later, his father also died.
He says, “A person dies only once, but such an incident happens to you every day.”
Even today, some people live with pellets embedded in their bodies.
Jammu and Kashmir leaders and Kshatriya Parishad protest
Not only leaders and human rights activists of Jammu and Kashmir, but also other people objected to the teaser of Ajay Devgn’s film.
National Conference MP from Srinagar Agha Syed Ruhullah Mehdi tweeted: “This teaser is extremely disturbing for those Kashmiris who have seen with their own eyes the era when air guns became a symbol of pain and irreparable loss.”
On the other hand, the Rajput organization Kshatriya Parishad also objected to the title of the film and the use of the name “Chauhan”.
In a statement, the organization said, “We strongly condemn the attempt to use the name of the Chauhan dynasty for modern communal politics in Neeraj Yadav and Ajay Devgan’s upcoming film Chauhan.
The statement further said, “The Rajput story is not a political stunt. The legacy of the Chauhans is the legacy of Rajput history and not part of election rhetoric or artificial conflict created by external elements. We reject any attempt to weaponize Rajput identity for ideological purposes.”
Some sections also welcomed the teaser. Senior actor Amitabh Bachchan also praised him online.
A study conducted in Srinagar between 2016 and 2018 found that most people affected by pellets suffered from serious mental health problems, including depression.
Another study published in 2025 documented victims’ long-term mental suffering, emotional distress, educational disruption, and personality changes.
No matter how much controversy there is over the film’s trailer, the sad truth is that even today, Hiba Jaan, Insha Mushtaq and hundreds of people like them have either lost their sight or are forced to live with shrapnel embedded in their bodies and deep mental trauma.
In such a situation, for them it is not just about the dialogue in the film, but as if their pain and suffering that they still experience every day is being denied.
Published by the BBC News Team.