The Indian government has ordered YouTube and Twitter to remove videos and tweets about a BBC documentary criticizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued instructions to block “multiple YouTube videos” and “more than 50 tweets” linked to the video of the first episode of the BBC documentary, said Kanchan Gupta, an adviser to the ministry. said on Saturday.
The ministry has issued a directive under the IT Regulation 2021 empowering the ministry to remove posts it deems to be damaging to India’s sovereignty and integrity, stating that it “has a negative impact on India’s friendly relations with foreign countries and public order and morals within the country.” It could affect,” he said. Gupta said. Both YouTube and Twitter followed the instructions, he said.
Gupta called the BBC documentary “hateful propaganda”. Multiple ministries, including the MEA, MHA and MIB, investigated the BBC’s “malicious documentary” and found that it “defamed the authority and credibility of the Supreme Court of India, caused division in various Indian communities, and made unsubstantiated allegations. He wrote that it was found that twitter thread.
BBC does not broadcast this documentary in India.
The BBC aired the first episode of its two-part documentary India: The Modi Problem on 17 January. The series deals with the 2002 riots in Gujarat, western India. Nearly 800 Muslims and more than 250 Hindus died in the riots, according to official statistics.
A riot broke out after a train carrying Hindu pilgrims caught fire.
A special investigation team appointed by India’s Supreme Court a decade later said Prime Minister Modi had taken steps to control the riots. Another petition to acquit Modi was rejected last year.
According to the BBC website’s description, the BBC series says the Modi government is “plagued by persistent allegations about his government’s attitude towards Muslims in India”.
“This series explores the truth behind these allegations, examines Modi’s backstory, and explores other questions about his politics regarding India’s largest religious minority.”
Arindam Bagchi, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India, said this week that the documentary was “a propaganda piece designed to promote a specific and unreliable narrative. Prejudice, lack of objectivity and, frankly, colonialism.” The continuation of the idea of
“If anything, this film or documentary reflects the agency and individuals who are retelling this story. I don’t want to make that kind of effort with dignity.”
In a statement, the BBC said the documentary explored tensions between India’s majority Hindus and minority Muslims and explored India’s PM Modi’s politics in relation to those tensions. said there is.
“This documentary has been rigorously researched according to the highest editorial standards. It has approached a wide range of voices, eyewitnesses and experts and covered a wide range of opinions, including responses from people of the BJP. increase. [India’s ruling party]We have given the Indian government the right to respond to the issues raised in the series, but have refused to do so,” a BBC spokeswoman said.
This isn’t the first time a documentary about Modi has sparked controversy. Disney-owned Hotstar, India’s largest on-demand video streaming service with more than 300 million users, blocked an episode critical of Modi on HBO’s “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver,” citing its An uncensored version of the episode aired on his YouTube in India.
