India bans Nirbhaya film, BBC advances its telecast
The much-talked about documentary, India’s Daughter, will not be telecast after all, at least not in India, where the crime against the December gang rape victim Nirbhaya was committed.
But the BBC has decided to go ahead with the telecast, saying that the film had handled the issue "responsibly". It has decided to disregard the advisory of the Indian government which was pressing the BBC not to show the controversial documentary in which the rapist is seen giving a graphic account of the assault.
Originally, the BBC had decided to show it on March 8, coinciding with the International Women's Day, but suddenly it decided to advance the screening, even as a storm was raging in India, saying it will enable viewers to see this "incredibly powerful documentary at the earliest opportunity".
Now, the documentary will be telecast in the United Kingdom on BBC Four at 10 pm on Wednesday night (3.30 IST). The BBC statement came even as Indian Parliament witnessed outrage over the interview of the gang rape convict,
constraining the Narendra Modi government to promise an in-depth inquiry
and disallow its telecast."Under no circumstances, this documentary will be allowed to be broadcast...The Government has taken necessary action and secured a restraining order,’’ Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh told Parliament.
In his statement, Singh also said, "It came to the notice of the jail authorities
“These sorts of bans are almost always counterproductive because now even those abroad who wouldn't have watched will be curious to see ”
– Omar Abdullah
that the permission conditions have been violated and hence a legal notice was issued to the BBC on 7th April, 2014, to return the unedited footage within 15 days and also not to show the film as it violates the permission conditions." He said at a screening of the film for jail authorities "it was noticed that the documentary depicts the comments of the convict which are highly derogatory and are an affront to the dignity of women. It was also noticed that the film shown was the edited version and not the unedited one as per permission conditions. Hence, they were requested to provide full copy of the unedited film for further review by the authorities. They were also asked not to release/screen the documentary till it is approved by the authorities." But a controversy erupted inside Parliament as well as outside it, which soon acquired political overtones, after it emerged that the home ministry had granted the permission to shoot the documentary in July 2013 during the previous Congress regime when Sushil Kumar Shinde was the union minister. The senior Maharashtra leader however asserted that he had nothing to do with the grant of the permission. "I had not given any such permission. No paper had come to me. I have no knowledge about it," he said. Shinde also clarified that the home minister has not referred to his name in this context."Don't accuse Home Minister (Rajnath Singh). Home Minister has not taken my name. You are taking my name. This is totally wrong. I have observed the proceedings in the Rajya Sabha. Mr Rajnath Singh has not mentioned my name. It (the permission) might have been given by somebody...I don't know," he said. According to authoritative sources, the permission had been granted by a Joint Secretary in the Home Ministry Suresh Kumar who had given the letter to the makers of the documentary, saying the government did not have any objection to the shooting in the high-security prison. However, the decision to ban the screening of the documentary came under criticism from several leaders, including former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah, Rajya Sabha member Anu Aga. Abdullah said:"These sorts of bans are almost always counterproductive because now even those abroad who wouldn't have watched will be curious to see." Aga added:” "I concede that there is an issue about who gave the permission and all that, but the reality is what the man (rapist) spoke reflects the view of many men in India and why are we shying away from that? In glorifying India and (saying) we are perfect we are not confronting the issues that need to be confronted." On her part, British filmmaker Leslee Udwin Udwin appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to view the documentary, which, she said, was a "gift to India", before any action was taken on it. She said India has taken the lead globally in the wake of the horrific crime which had led to protests across the country. Rape was an issue of global concern which she has highlighted in the documentary, she said.