BBC documentary ban: The questions won’t go away

One ground cited for blocking the documentary is that it is 'an attempt to cast aspersions on the authority and credibility of the Supreme Court.'

None of the reasons cited by the government for blocking videos of the BBC documentary India: the Modi Question is right and valid. The I&B Ministry used emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021, to block multiple videos on YouTube and Twitter and some tweets with links to access the videos.

The action is similar to the ban on the film Kissa Kursi Ka by the then government during the Emergency. The documentary is about the 2002 violence in Gujarat in which hundreds of people, mostly Muslims, were killed.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has faced charges that he did not do enough as Chief Minister to bring the violence under control. The documentary is based on a UK government report, interviews, and investigations. While Modi comes in for criticism, his supporters also get the opportunity to counter the criticism and to defend him.

One ground cited for blocking the documentary is that it is “an attempt to cast aspersions on the authority and credibility of the Supreme Court.” Even if the court found that Modi as such was not guilty in the cases that came before it, it cannot be argued that the media cannot take a look at the entire episode. Legal accountability is different from moral and political responsibility. Modi’s failure to stem the violence had drawn public admonition from then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to uphold “raj dharma” and it has been said that Vajpayee had wanted to replace him as Chief Minister.

If questioning the Supreme Court is a reason for the decision to block the documentary, then Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, who too has raised questions over Supreme Court decisions, will also have to be blocked. The government’s assertion that the documentary would sow divisions among communities and undermine the sovereignty and integrity of India is a false alarm. Of course, the question arises as to why the then British government assumed competence to probe events in a land that had long ago ceased to be in its jurisdiction and even pronounce a ‘guilty’ sentence. That’s a matter for the Indian government to take up with the British government.

All opposition parties have criticised the government’s decision. It is an act of censorship, and a country with a liberal democracy which allows free play of views and opinions should have no place for censorship. It is clear that the documentary has been banned because it does not show Modi in good light, and other justifications have been found to validate the decision. Prime Minister Modi has a big image and the documentary should only have been ignored. The decision to block it will only hurt Modi’s image internationally, because it will now attract more eyes and minds to what is sought to be blocked.