JNU students defy university advisory, screen banned BBC documentary on Modi
New Delhi: Several students at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Tuesday screened a banned BBC documentary about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, defying an advisory from the university administration warning of severe consequences.
The screening, organised by the Left-aligned All India Students' Federation (AISF), was initially intended to be shown on a projector. However, the organisers claimed that security staff damaged the projector. As a result, the students resorted to screening the documentary on a laptop at the university's Ganga Dhaba, where numerous students gathered to watch it in the presence of security personnel.
The JNU administration had issued an advisory on Monday, urging students not to participate in the screening, citing concerns that it could "disturb communal harmony" on campus. The university further warned that strict disciplinary actions would follow any violation of this directive.
Accusations of suppressing free speech and dissent
AISF leaders accused the administration and security forces of attempting to suppress dissent and restrict free speech. "The cyclopes (JNU security personnel) manhandled the students and the JNUSU joint secretary Sajid. They damaged the projector but still the students watched the documentary in protest. They have refused to surrender before this tyranny. They have refused to give up on their rights of freedom of speech and protest," an AISF representative alleged.
The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) condemned the advisory, describing it as an assault on students' fundamental rights. "It is deeply hypocritical that while the administration has consistently tried to suppress screenings of documentaries critical of the government, it has simultaneously given a free hand to films that propagate the RSS-BJP agenda,” the statement said.
“Movies like The Kerala Story, The Kashmir Files, and Jahangir National University, and The Sabarmati Report which openly promote divisive, fascist ideologies, were permitted without question on campus," it added.
Agency