By D N Singh
Why are there so much ruckus over the BBC documentary ‘India- The Modi Question’, the segmented documentary dating back to 2002 when Narendra Modi was at the helm in Gujarat and was scaling new highs in Indian politics.
So, what went wrong ?
It was mainly a three-day period communal unrest which turned murderous leading to consecutive communal flares ups raising the questions who was behind.
Now the moral lies at the doors of two international leader of repute i.e PM of India Narendra Modi and the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, who is stated to be an astute follower of Hindu philosophies and traditions.
Will that speak on the relationship between India and England and can Sunak steer through the rough weather of sentiments in India post the ban on the documentary in India which allegedly angered the religious sentiments of Hindu nationalists.
Now that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the pleas challenging the Centre’s ban on the said Documentary, several eyebrows will remain raised for the outcome from the apex court.
‘India, The Modi Question’ tends to dissect through Modi’s role as chief minister of Gujarat during a three-day period of communal violence in 2002 in which more than one thousand people died, including 790 Muslims. Despite not airing in India, the documentary returns the events to the public eye, which has angered India’s ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The first part of the Docu film was although released but the second part was halted and even a ban was imposed on the social media.
May be with the 2024 general elections not very far, the documentary in question has become more in the focus or may have a kind of bearing on the people with certain religious sentiments.
On the contrary, the ban has only brought more attention to the program, with many people, including opposition politicians, protesting the move and providing links to download it.
The controversy comes at a delicate moment for the U.K.-India relationship. But New Delhi has always pursued its own interests; during Modi’s nearly nine years as prime minister, India has also become an increasingly illiberal place, where activists are jailed and minority rights are undermined. As Britain’s first prime minister of color and its first Hindu prime minister, Sunak has a difficult balancing act as he seeks closer relations with India. And for Modi, the documentary brings back ghosts of the past as India prepares for national elections next year.
Tacitly or otherwise the ban has fuelled a curiosity among people to download it and now it being taken to the Supreme Court, the matter gains a new momentum and the curiosity level has gone a notch higher.
The blanket ban also raise issues like does the Docu, India: The Modi Question revives the most controversial episode of the prime minister’s political career. That may be or may not be correct as the present PM , Modi has scaled a peak in popularity as never before. So, further resistance cannot be the condoned as a constructive alternative at this stage as the zeal for the next phase of the film has perhaps doubled.
PM Modi has now to exercise that required restrain and not to be awayed by sentiments and allow a further flare up of the issue.
