Students detained as BBC documentary screening announced in Jamia Millia
After students belonging to the left-wing Students Federation of India (SFI) announced the screening of the banned BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia University, the police detained over a dozen students allegedly for creating a ruckus outside the campus. Following the announcement, classes were suspended and riot police reached the university's gates in vans with tear gas cannons.
Why does this story matter?
- The BBC released a documentary 'India: The Modi Question' investigating PM Modi's involvement as the state's chief minister in the 2002 Gujarat riots, which killed over 2,000 people.
- Soon after its release, the government banned the documentary and termed it colonial propaganda pushing a "discredited narrative". In defiance of the ban, various groups across the country announced the screening of the controversial documentary.
Students not being allowed to enter campus
The students scheduled the screening despite the university administration prohibiting it. It said it was taking measures to prevent those "having vested interest to destroy the peaceful academic atmosphere". The police were seen manhandling students carrying banners and raising slogans to protest the crackdown. No students were allowed to enter the campus, except those appearing for exams.
Personnel guard the university's periphery
Heavy force deployed outside the #Jamia Millia Islamic after SFI has decided to screen the #BBC documentary at 6 PM today. pic.twitter.com/VfwZNzgSL4
— Meer Faisal (@meerfaisal01) January 25, 2023
Students screening documentary in JNU met with blackout, stone pelting
On Tuesday, a screening of the documentary was scheduled at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). However, students alleged they were met with an administration-sponsored blackout and later stone pelting by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The students managed to catch two alleged miscreants and marched to the Vasant Kunj police station to register a complaint.
Various groups announce screenings across the country
Earlier on Tuesday, student groups at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) screened the documentary, following which the university authority sought a report on the matter from its officials. The Communist Party of India-Marxist's (CPIM) Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), announced screenings across Kerala, which the BJP termed "treasonous." Meanwhile, students at Kolkata's Presidency University have sought permission for screening the documentary on Friday.
