A section of Jawaharlal Nehru University students’ plans to screen a banned BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi this evening backfired as both internet and electricity went off at the students’ union office. Students watched the documentary on their cellphones and laptops and the evening ended with a fight between left-wing and right-wing supporters and a protest march by the student union.
The screening of the documentary was scheduled to begin at 9 pm and the students had planned to go ahead with it despite disapproval from the administration. The JNU administration refused to allow the screening, which India has blocked from sharing online. The university administration had even said that disciplinary action would be taken if the documentary was screened.
But the students insisted that the screening would not violate any university norms, nor would it disturb communal harmony. After a late evening blackout, they reached a cafeteria inside the campus, where they watched documentaries on their cellphones and laptops.
While the students were watching the documentary, some stones were thrown at them from behind the bushes. Later, members of the JNU Students’ Union took out a protest march, raising slogans against the BJP and the ABVP, the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological mentor of the BJP.
Aishe Ghosh, president of the Left-backed Students’ Federation of India, alleged that the administration was responsible for the blackout.
He told NDTV, “The administration has cut off internet and electricity to suppress the voice of democracy. However, we will not stop and watch the documentary with the help of mobile phones using QR codes.” The JNU administration was not available for comment.
Last week, sources said the government had asked Twitter and YouTube to remove the controversial BBC series on PM Modi, which claimed to investigate some aspects of the 2002 Gujarat riots when he was the chief minister of the state.
In a scathing criticism of the BBC, the Center called it a “propaganda piece designed to push a particular discrediting narrative”. The Ministry of External Affairs has said, “The bias and lack of objectivity and the blatantly continuing colonial mindset are clearly visible.”
Criticizing the government over “censorship”, several opposition leaders tweeted alternative links where the first part of the two-part series could be viewed. Mahua Moitra of the Trinamool Congress tweeted, “Shame that the emperors and courtiers of the world’s largest democracy are so insecure.”
Earlier today, a student group at the University of Hyderabad screened the documentary. The university administration has sought a report from its officials in this matter.