BBC Documentary Line: Banned BBC documentary – “India: The Modi Question” was screened in Kerala and Hyderabad on Republic Day (Thursday). The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) screened the banned film at Shangmugam beach for the general public, while The Students’ Federation of India (SFI) organized a screening of the controversial documentary at the University of Hyderabad (UoH).
KPCC general secretary GS Babu said the screening of the documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi supported the western state, was first shown at the KPCC headquarters for its employees and party workers.
“We got a positive response from the general public for the screening. A lot of people came to watch it. Looking at the positive response, we will screen it at various places across the state,” Babu told PTI.
The KPCC screened the introductory part of the first part of the documentary and the entire second part during the screening, he said.
He further added that the response indicates that people want to know what is in the documentary and what it is about. Various wings of the Congress have already screened the first part of the documentary in several parts of the state.
BBC Documentary vs Kashmir Files at University of Hyderabad
Members of the SFI screened a BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots at the University of Hyderabad, while the ABVP, the student wing of the RSS, screened the controversial film ‘The Kashmir Files’ on the campus.
The Fraternity Movement, a group of students on the UoH campus, organized a screening of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question” on the university campus on January 21 without prior notice or permission, prompting the university authorities to demand a report. Had to be forced To take necessary action on the incident.
The screening of the documentary “India: The Modi Question”, access to which was recently blocked by the Center on social media platforms, was earlier announced by SFI at the university campus.
“Glimpses of successful screening of documentary ‘India: The Modi Question’ organized by SFI HCU on Republic Day on the call of SFI CEC. Over 400 students turn up for screening, ABVP’s efforts to create false propaganda and unrest and screening of documentary SFI-HCU salutes the student community who have stood up for freedom of expression and campus democracy,” said a social media post by SFI HCU tagging the photos. UoH, also known as Hyderabad Central University (HCU).
Countering this, ABVP HCU students organized a screening of ‘The Kashmir Files’ in the university campus today.
Written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri, the Bollywood film depicts the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from Kashmir following systematic killings of people of the community by Pakistan-backed terrorists.
Dean-Students Welfare had counseled student groups and issued an appeal not to screen films in view of law and order issues, maintaining peace and tranquility in the campus and upcoming semester examinations, Devesh Nigam, registrar of UoH, said in a statement. It was Starting next week. However, the students decided to go ahead with their event schedule.
“We have come to know that a group did the screening at a hostel,” he said. He said that there is peace in the campus.
Earlier, a group of ABVP members staged a sit-in in front of the main gate of the university and raised slogans against the university administration, alleging that the security personnel did not allow them to enter the university campus with screening equipment.
They staged a sit-in and demanded to know from the university administration how SFI was allowed to screen the BBC documentary and said that they would not allow its screening.
“The university administration tried to stop the screening of the film “The Kashmir Files”. When ABVP activists were bringing projectors from the main gate, the university security manhandled our activists.
Another attempt was made by the administration to confiscate our projectors. We protested at the main gate and we have arranged everything for the screening. We appeal to the student community to join us in large numbers at Ambedkar Chowk (North Shopcom).
Government action against documentary
The central government had last week directed social media platforms like Twitter and YouTube to block links to the documentary ‘India: The Modi Question’.
The Ministry of External Affairs has dismissed the documentary as a “propaganda piece” that lacks objectivity and reflects a colonial mindset.
A two-part BBC documentary, which claimed to have investigated certain aspects related to the 2002 Gujarat riots when Narendra Modi was chief minister of that state, was dismissed as a “propaganda piece” by the Ministry of External Affairs which lacked objectivity and reflected a “colonial mindset”.
(with PTI inputs)