BBC documentary despite TISS warning

The BBC documentary screening at the TISS has drawn the abrasive rebuke of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Ashish Shelar, head of the saffron party’s Mumbai branch, has charged the institute with attempting to undermine Mumbai’s and Maharashtra’s law and order.

At Mumbai’s Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), more than 200 students are watching the BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to the Progressive Students Forum, which is organising the screening. The institute had advised the students against organising the screening, yet here we are.

It is with the utmost seriousness that we note that some students, through a group, are engaged in activities contrary to the advisory issued on January 27th regarding the screening of a BBC Documentary forbidden by the Government and attempting to mobilise and trigger students to do the same, the TISS administration had stated in its circular.

The statement continued, “We caution the students to understand that any such acts by any student or groups violating the instructions issued on January 27, 2023 and engaging in any activities leading to disturbance of peace and harmony will be held responsible for the same and will be dealt with appropriately under applicable institutional rules on the matter.

The screening has been challenged by the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is currently in charge in Maharashtra. Bharatiya Yuva Morcha, the youth arm of the saffron party, organised a demonstration outside the college.

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Ashish Shelar, head of the BJP’s Mumbai unit, urged that the screening be put on hold and accused the TISS of attempting to undermine law and order in Mumbai and Maharashtra.

“By airing the BBC’s phoney documentary, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) is attempting to undermine law and order in Mumbai and Maharashtra. Otherwise, we’ll adopt the stance we want to take, thus the cops should quickly outlaw it! Shelar tweeted, “TISS should stop this business!

Students At Mumbai's TISS Screen BBC Series On PM Modi Despite Warning https://t.co/PDCCZS0abE via @ndtv

Good to learn that students at TISS could watch the Documentary series despite the restriction of the Modi Govt and the institute's advisory!

— Niraj Pant (@NirajPant2) January 28, 2023

India and overseas have both expressed extreme displeasure over the two-part documentary series “India: The Modi Question,” which details what happened during the 2002 Gujarat riots while Modi was the state’s chief minister. More than 50 tweets and countless YouTube videos promoting the documentary were removed as a result of the Modi government’s harsh criticism of it.

However, the video has been presented at locations including university campuses including Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Delhi, Presidency University, and others by a number of political organisations. Conflicts have reportedly occurred when screenings have been stopped.