The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of India turned to the government to prevent access to the BBC documentary series called “ India India : Modi question “, which studies the policy and actions of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in relation to the Muslim minority of India.
Modi represents the party of Bharatiya Dzhanat, which has ties with organizations professing Hindu nationalist philosophy. The documentary tells about the time when Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat, where in 2002 interfaith riots occurred, as a result of which more than 1000 people died, most of whom were Muslims. The clashes occurred after a fire on a train, which took more than 50 Indians.
Mode for a long time denied his involvement in the riots, and the investigation did not find evidence indicating guilt. BBC caused a strong hostility in India, since government officials accused the broadcasting company of bias and neocolonialism.
It is worth noting that the documentary was not even shown in India, but it got on the Internet. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of India announced a state of emergency using two laws. One of them allows you to block content in emergency situations, and the other “in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India.”
The government of India did not explain why the documentary is a danger to sovereignty, but criticized it for provoking a crisis – an emergency with freedom of speech. The film was deleted with YouTube, but the investigation is still ongoing.