A two-part documentary series India: The Modi Question was broadcasted by BBC Two. it is related to the prime minister of India Narendra Modi and his bonding with Muslim minorities of the country. In two-part series, first part is about Modi’s early political juncture and his involvement in the 2002 Gujrat riots, during his tenure as chief minister of Gujarat. The documentary in this part focuses on the documents found by the BBC, along with a report from U.K government saying that the Gujarat violence has all the indications of ethnic cleansing.
The second part shows the actions of the administration of the Modi government when he was re-elected in 2019. It engulfs a chain of disputed policies, such as the revocation of Kashmir’s autonomy and a new citizenship law. It also shows the aggressive response against the law and the repercussions of the 2020 Delhi riots. The series was later banned in India, with the government bringing in a 2021 law that evoked its power to censor social media.
The reason the Government of India gave for banning the series was that it was indoctrination and instructed the social media sites to remove the piece of the series uploaded by users. The government also stated that it was sans justice and showed a colonial mindset. According to a minister of the Indian government, watching the series was betraying. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the BBC story was purely biased. There was no objectivity. Arindam Bagchi also asked questions on the purpose of the series and the agenda behind it.
All the posts linking to the series were blocked by Twitter and YouTube on their platforms as it was legally l demanded by the Indian government. Human Rights Watch (HRW), claimed that the ban showed the cruel treatment of religious minorities under Modi’s administration. HRW also said that the Modi administration had often utilized extreme laws to silence the criticism against the government.
The BBC series has made the Modi led government think that the colonial mindset of the maker of the series threatens Indo-UK ties. The British prime minister Rishi Sunak of the pre-partition Indian origin is in uncertainty now. He is eager to have more healthy relationship with India. With a trade agreement he hopes to show that the UK can have a good trade term with countries better than those permissible by the European Union.
The controversy has erupted at a delicate juncture for the Indo-UK ties. India is now viewed as a partner and as a potential rival to China by many western governments. Sunak has a difficult balancing act as he seeks closer relations with India.
And with the Indian government becoming upset regarding the BBC documentary, it will be difficult for Sunak to get the deal he wants. The documentary was mentioned in the British Parliament. The Labor Party lawmaker Imran Hussain asked him if he supported the British diplomats who think that Modi had a direct role to play in the 2002 violence. Sunak said that Britain is against maltreatment at anyplace but he was not in agreement with Hussain on whatever he said about Modi. He must now take a much careful road.
Above all, the BBC series is based on a secret British government report written by diplomats, that Sunak cannot underestimate although he wants to improve the ties with India. So, he is at a very uncomfortable place now as the series is going to be telecast. The ruling party might think of stopping the BBC, but it is a self-governing body and has vehemently defended the film.
Many media houses have criticized the decision of the government of India to ban a BBC documentary critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and have condemned the use of emergency powers to stop clips from being screened online in India. According to critics press freedom in India has been curtailed in recent years and the country has gone down to 150 out of 180 countries, in last year’s Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders. It blames Modi’s government for censoring social media. It was asked by The Editors Guild of India to take back the proposal, stating that such a change would be like censorship.
The decision to stop the documentary from screening comes in the middle of a growing challenging environment for media and the liberty of the press in the regime of the Modi government with the critiques and media put through the state and judicial exasperation.
To summarize, India: The Modi Questions is a series made by the BBC depicting various aspects of Narendra Modi in two parts. But the series has been seen by The Government of India as propaganda and banned invoking a law that has got right to censor social media. So, the ban was also criticized by politicians of the opposite party and depicted as harassment of the freedom of the press by human rights organizations.
Despite the ban, people are curious to watch the series hence screening at places like Jamia Milia Islamia was stalled by New Delhi police, clad in riot gear, and equipped with tear gas. Likewise, students at Jawaharlal Nehru University also were stalled by cutting electricity.
But the ban has attracted more attention than would have been otherwise. So, it is very much controversial to ban the documentary and arouse curiosity in human psychology. It’d have been better if the people would have been allowed to view it and make a judgment according to their choices. As people are aware of the personality of prime minister Narendra Modi so it would have been their choice to make the ultimate decision.
