Censorship, arrests, and power cuts: India’s Democracy Question
Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini once said, ‘Censorship is advertising paid by the government.’ The statement appears true in the case of BBC’s The Modi Question, a documentary based on the 2002 Gujrat riots, which the Modi government banned under the Information Technology Rules 2021 law.
Since the ban was invoked, Twitter and YouTube links to the documentary have been removed, although the documentary has been seen all over India on university campuses and in screenings held by opposition parties across states, making the ban indeed an advertisement for the documentary.
Government Response
The Indian Ministry of Information & Broadcasting described the documentary as propaganda and stated that it reflected a colonial mindset. Many commentators argue that the ban had drawn more attention to the documentary than it would have otherwise received, known as the Streisand effect. Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson for the external affairs ministry, said, “The bias and lack of objectivity and frankly continuing colonial mindset are blatantly visible.”
On 24 January, authorities cut electricity to the student union hall in the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University campus in an attempt to prevent the documentary from being screened. This move provoked more students and led to an increased number of screenings around India’s college campuses.
When students at Jamia Millia Islamia University announced they would screen the documentary, Delhi police swooped in with riot gear and detained the organizers, again a move that led to more provocation amongst students. This led to administrators disallowing the gathering of students at the premises.
I am not writing this article to talk about the documentary for I have not watched it and don’t plan to anytime soon. I am, however, writing this piece to talk about our government’s response to the release of the documentary. The ban and the comments passed by BJP leaders and ministers reflect the BJP’s deranged mindset on democratic principles. They seem to think any possible hurdle to the BJP or Narendra Modi is a threat to India’s sovereignty and national security. Perhaps the ruling party hadn’t read its fair share of history when the British Raj censored newspapers written by freedom fighters. Today, it is the BJP that censors a questionable piece of content without letting the people of India decide what and what not to think. It is not for the government to decide whether or not the Indian people should watch the documentary.
Supreme Court PILs
The Supreme Court of India plans to hear two petitions regarding the ban on the documentary. One petition was filed by journalist N Ram, TMC leader Mahua Moitra and popular advocate Prashant Bhushan, the other was filed by advocate M L Sharma who stated the ban was ‘illegal, malafide, arbitrary and unconstitutional’.
Moitra’s petition claimed that the “contents of the BBC Documentary and the tweets by” Bhushan and Moitra are protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and expression. “…the contents of the documentary series do not fall under any of the restrictions specified in Article 19(2) or restrictions imposed under Section 69A of the IT Act, 2000”. After hearing the petitions, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the centre asking to produce relevant records and scheduled to hear the matter in April.
The Democracy Question
Censorship has always acted as fuel to the fire in the case of films, books, and the press. Never once has it helped the ruling class in terms of public support and perception. The Modi government’s naive approach towards media and open displays of authoritarianism will hinder India’s and Modi’s long-term aspirations through the global lens. It is up to our Prime Minister to decide in which direction to steer our nation: towards suppression and authoritarianism or towards freedom of expression and liberty.
