The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, has issued an advisory today, January 27, warning the students against screening the BBC documentary on PM Narendra Modi on campus. According to an ANI report, the advisory states no permission has been granted for screenings or gatherings that could disrupt the academic environment or endanger the peace and harmony on the campuses.
"It has come to our notice that some groups of students are planning to screen the BBC documentary that has created a disturbance in some parts of the country. Some plan to organise gatherings to protest against related developments in a few universities," the TISS warning said, adding, "This is to inform all the students that the Institute has not permitted any such screening and gatherings which may disturb the academic environment and jeopardise the peace and harmony in our campuses. Any action by students against this advisory will be dealt with strictly as per the rules. We advise all students to refrain from engaging in any such activities in contravention to this advisory."
Pratik Permey, the president of the TISS Student Union claimed that the organisation made no plans to screen the documentary. The ANI report quoted Perney as saying, "The TISS Student association has also received the advisory from the registrar and director of the TISS but the association has not planned any screening of the said documentary. We have heard that one Progressive Students Forum (PSF) has organised this screening. We are not part of it."
The documentary has caused a new controversy to emerge in the nation. Earlier this month, the Indian government evoked emergency laws to ban the BBC documentary, 'India: The Modi Question', calling it a propaganda piece. The documentary was also taken down from many social media sites including Twitter and Youtube. However, students at various central universities have been screened, causing a clash between students and the administration.
The controversy intensified on Wednesday, January 25, when 13 students of Jamia Millia University were detained by the Delhi Police following the announcement of a screening on campus. Chaos also unfurled at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), where several members of the JNU Student's Union (JNUSU) complained of being attacked by members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) during the screening and alleged a deliberate power cut by the administration to halt the screening.
A similar power outage also happened at Ambedkar University today, January 27, where the students claimed the power was intentionally snapped by the authorities to interrupt the screening. Similar to Ambedkar University, power was also snapped at JNU during the screening, which the students alleged was a deliberate attempt to halt the screening. The Hyderabad Central University (HCU) and Jadavpur University (JU) are among the other institutes that screened the documentary.
The opposition has slammed the ban on the documentary as an attack on freedom of speech, despite the government calling it a 'propaganda piece'. The university administrations, especially JNU and JMI warned students against the screening of the documentary after the pamphlets for the film were circulated. JNUSU responded to the warning by declaring that they intend to simply watch it on campus and they "do not seek to create any form of disharmony", states the ANI report. The letter further stated that only the students who expressed a "voluntary interest" in participating in the screening would do so.
