Myanmar junta charges Burmese-Indian man who criticized film that ridiculed Hinduism

By RFA Burmese2024.10.31

Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese.

A Burmese-Indian activist who went missing after slamming a Myanmar film as racist toward Hindus is in the custody of authorities, who are investigating him for “instigation,” the junta announced Wednesday.

Hindus have faced decades of discrimination in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, where they endure restrictions on religious practice and travel, according to the U.S. State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report.

Shine Htet Aung, 33, disappeared on Oct. 26, days after posting a review of the Myanmar rom-com “Jar Kit Sar Pu Thee” (Have You Ever Ridden a Jeep) on Facebook, in which he described the film as racist toward Hindu culture. The review went viral on social media, garnering thousands of likes and shares.

His family and friends had expressed concern for his safety in interviews with the Mizzima media outlet after he was reportedly abducted by individuals in plainclothes while volunteering at a school for the blind in Yangon region’s Mayangone township.

On Wednesday evening, the junta announced that Shine Htet Aung, the owner of the Facebook account “Her Sal Yon (Ko King),” was detained at the police station in his home township of Hlaing in Yangon region.

The announcement said police are investigating Shine Htet Aung, also known as Vuy Htet Kumar, for “inciting propaganda through social media to undermine national stability.” It provided no details of the reason for his arrest.

In his Oct. 24 Facebook post, Shine Htet Aung had expressed concerns about the title and promotional attire in a poster for Jar Kit Sar Pu Thee, which is due to be released next month.

He said the poster portrayed Hindu culture in a stereotypical and offensive manner and noted that Jar Kit Sar Pu Thee is a mock Hindi word used to greet Hindus in an offensive manner.

After the post went viral, pro-junta channels on the social media platform Telegram called for his arrest for “instigating racial and religious” hatred.

His Facebook account has since been deactivated.

Prior to the announcement of his arrest, a source close to Shine Htet Aung’s family called his likely detention as “unfair.”

“Almost everyone in this country dislikes the dictators, except for the lobbyists and their supporters,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.

According to Myanmar’s 2014 census, Hindus make up only 0.5 percent of the country’s population, whereas 88 percent of the people identify as Buddhist and 4.3 percent as Muslim.

Edited by Joshua Lipes and Matt Reed.