New Delhi: At around 8.30 pm Tuesday, police were deployed at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). The gates were locked, and the power cut off. Covered in darkness, members of the JNU Students Union (JNUSU) gathered at 9 pm, as scheduled, to collectively watch the BBC documentary titled ‘India: The Modi Question’ .
The central government has banned the two-part documentary, blocking YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the film that claims it investigated aspects relating to the 2002 Gujarat riots. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister of the state then. The Ministry of External Affairs has called the documentary a “propaganda piece”. Last week,
In her address to those present at the university Tuesday, JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh said in her address, “They can cut off the WiFi and electricity but they can’t stop us from viewing the documentary.”
About 100 students were present at the time. Sharing the video via a QR code on apps and bluetooth, they sat around the community centre, watching the documentary. Another group of students watched it on laptops, huddled on the ground.
A student said to ThePrint, “I came because the news kept showing that the documentary is banned. I wanted to see what exactly it talked about. This cutting of electricity really shows the cowardice of the JNU authorities. This institution has always been an open space for discussion.This goes against the fabric of the institution.”
As students continued to throng the area, at around 10.40 pm, stones and broken glasses were pelted at those gathered to watch the documentary. ThePrint was present there at the time.
Notice from JNU
In a notice Monday, the JNU administration had asked students to refrain from airing the documentary. It also claimed that students had not taken prior permission to hold the event. “This is to emhasise that such an unauthorised activity may disturb peace and harmony of the university campus. The concerned students/individuals are firmly advised to cancel the proposed programme,” the JNU statement said.
In response to this, the JNUSU had released a statement prior to the airing of the documentary and questioned the administration regarding the validity of the notice asking them to cancel the programme. It read, “By screening the documentary/movie, we do not seek to create any form of disharmony. The purpose of the screening is only to watch the documentary on campus. Only the students with voluntary interest would take part in the screening,” said the statement accessed by ThePrint.
Blame game
Meanwhile, after the incident of stone pelting, the Left and Right-affiliated students’ bodies of the institution took to pointing fingers. The Left-affiliated All India Students’ Association (AISA) released a statement late in the night which said, “AISA JNU unit strongly condemns this shameful act of hooliganism by the ABVP. The democratic voice of the students will rage against fascist politics of BJP – RSS.”
Student members of AISA marched to the Vasant Kunj police station in order to lodge a complaint against the peltors, who they alleged were from Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) – a students’ body affiliated to the RSS.
In a statement, the ABVP claimed that the documentary is an attack on the prime minister and the nation by the Opposition and shows the hatred of the west towards him.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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