Despite an official advisory from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) cautioning students against screening the banned BBC documentary ‘India: The Modi Question’, the event will proceed as planned on the campus on Tuesday night, All India Students’ Federation (AISF) has confirmed.
On Monday, JNU issued a formal warning, describing the film’s screening planned at Ganga Dhaba at 9 pm as “unauthorized and unwarranted” and raising concerns that it could “disturb communal harmony and the peaceful environment” on the campus.
The advisory stated: “It has come to the notice that a group of students has released a pamphlet for screening a banned documentary scheduled for tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. at Ganga Dhaba. No prior permission for this event has been taken from the IHA. This is to emphasise that such an unauthorized activity may disturb communal harmony and the peaceful environment of the University Campus.”
The advisory further warned: “The concerned students/individuals are firmly advised to desist from all such activities failing which strict action will be taken as per University rules. The stakeholders are also advised not to get provoked by this pamphlet, which is unauthorised and unwarranted.”
Nevertheless, AISF vice president Santosh Kumar dismissed the university’s caution, stating the warning was vague and lacking specificity. “Neither has the name of the film been mentioned in it nor the student group’s name,” Kumar told The Indian Express.
He added, “All of India has already seen this film. So, I don’t think there is anything wrong with screening it. The screening will go on as scheduled tonight.”
The BBC documentary has been at the centre of intense debate, given its critical examination of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. Its airing has raised tensions across political divides, with the Indian government blocking its full release.
The AISF’s decision to screen the film comes in the context of political and social unrest, as the screening is reportedly meant to commemorate the alleged assault on students at Jamia Millia Islamia by Delhi Police during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in 2019.
In January 2023, student protests erupted at JNU and Delhi University for attempting to screen the documentary on campuses.
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