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Turkish historical TV drama sets new battleground for Indians, Pakistanis
Manimugdha S Sharma | TNN | Jun 5, 2020, 22:50 IST
NEW DELHI: A Turkish historical TV drama set in the 13th century is, strangely, the latest friction point between Indians and Pakistanis on
social media
. Titled Dirilis Ertugrul or Resurrection Ertugrul, the series is on the life of Ertugrul Bey, the father of Osman I – the founder of the
Ottoman Empire
.
The series, which was first aired in 2014 in
Turkey
, has become an instant hit in Pakistan after state broadcaster PTV aired the Urdu dubbed version on the first day of Ramzan this year. In no time, it broke the YouTube watching record, surpassing the viewer count of the show in Turkey. This was especially after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan himself endorsed the show as one promoting “good culture” and revealed his binge-watching habit.
But it isn’t that the show is only popular in Pakistan; even Indians have been binge-watching it if social media posts are anything to go by. One big factor behind it is a positive portrayal of Muslims when the trend has been, especially after 9/11, to show Muslims in stereotypical roles, mostly negative, in Hollywood and Bollywood productions. “The series has been helpful in debunking the barbaric image of Muslim rulers that recent xenophobic Bollywood movies have created,” said Dr Sana Aziz who teaches history at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
She added that for the Turkish people, the series has become a means to reinvigorate nationalism and masculinity. “In a way, this series has become Turkey’s own Mahabharata moment on screen,” Aziz said.
But what explains this new wave of jingoism in Pakistan where some of their news channels and social media stars have claimed that the show has triggered panic among “kuffar ke lashkar” or “infidel armies” – a pejorative reference to the western world and India? In fact, several Pakistani users have claimed, wrongly, that the Indian government has banned the show in India, fearing a “Muslim resurgence”. Indian cyber warriors have responded with contempt and spite, but in their zeal, they have also landed jibes on Indian Muslims.
“There is a common idea among conservative-minded fans of the show in Pakistan that the West and Jews and other traditional enemies of Islamist anxiety are somehow terrified by the popularity of the show,” Ziyad Faycal of Friday Times told TOI from Lahore.
He explained that the show is being understood as a teaching tool for Muslim cultural motifs and values and represents the yearning among Turkey's Islamist leaders for an idealised past where Muslim piety and virility overcame problems. “It has obviously struck a similar chord in Imran Khan's ‘Naya Pakistan’. He has recommended it not just as a source of entertainment during the Covid-19 lockdown, but as a didactic tool that would remind us who ‘our’ heroes are and what ‘our’ values are,” Faycal added.
This never-ending, ahistorical quest for “our” values in Pakistan is rooted in the rather embarrassing realisation among nationalists that the set of values Pakistan inherited on Partition were inherently Indian values. That has fuelled the need to look outside the subcontinent for heroes and ideals to cherish. But what do historians think about this depiction?
Professor Ali Nadeem Rezavi, former head of history at AMU, said the Pakistani version of the series is a good example of how language sometimes kills a good presentation. “It has been excessively filled with religiosity of present times in a historical setting depicting 13th-14th century developments. Yes, the Turkish tribe is charged by religious zeal, absorbed in mystical ideals and teachings, but is shorn of overzealous communalism. The Urdu dialogues loaded with a heavy dose of religious piety destroys the balance,” Rezavi said.
He added, “In SOAS London, we were once shown a Turkish marquee in which we spent some time. Ertugrul recreates that with perfection. See it to comprehend the Turks, their society, their movements and predilections, not to rekindle your faith in Islam. Don’t use it to further your own vested interests. Many tried to do that, history gobbled them.”
Dr Aziz also thinks the series can help her students to understand the establishment of Turkish rule in India in the late 12th century. “The series reflects on the incessant migrations that the Turks were forced to take up due to Mongol attacks that led to the establishment of their independent empires in different parts of the world, including India. They would also understand the complexities of political negotiations that happened between sedentary rulers and the Turkish pastoral tribes. It points to the fact that consolidation and the survival of early medieval Muslim empires worked through multi-layered kinship networks,” Aziz said.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.timesofindia.com/v/s/m.timesofindia.com/india/turkish-historical-tv-drama-sets-new-battleground-for-indians-pakistanis/amp_articleshow/76222307.cms?amp_js_v=0.1&usqp=mq331AQFKAGwASA%3D#ampf=
