New Delhi: Several YouTube videos sharing the BBC documentary on the Gujarat riots have been blocked. According to news agency ANI, YouTube videos sharing the episode of this documentary were blocked as per instructions issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Saturday (January 21). Not only this, but the central government has also directed Twitter to block more than 50 tweets containing the link to the related YouTube video.
It is noteworthy that Apoorva Chandra, Secretary, of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued the instructions on Friday using emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021. After which, YouTube and Twitter followed suit.
What’s in the BBC documentary?
Significantly, the BBC has made a new documentary series in two parts titled ‘India: The Modi Question’. Its first part has been released on Tuesday. The series is based on the 2002 riots in Gujarat when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of the state. In this, the political journey of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initial phase has been discussed. At the same time, his association with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, his rising stature in the BJP, and his appointment as the Chief Minister of Gujarat have also been discussed in it. Although this series has not yet aired in India, it was run by BBC in many countries of the world including London. Now a controversy has arisen regarding this. The second part of this series is to be released on 24 January.
The government expressed displeasure over the documentary
If sources are to be believed, BBC did not make this documentary series available in India, but some YouTube channels uploaded it to promote the anti-India agenda. Last Thursday, India condemned the controversial BBC documentary series regarding this documentary and removed it from select platforms.
Sources said senior officials of several ministries, including external affairs, home affairs, and information and broadcasting, examined the documentary and found it to be an attempt to attack the authority and credibility of the Supreme Court, sowing seeds of division among various Indian communities.
A piece of propaganda
Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs had termed it as a part of disinformation Rejecting it outright and saying that it clearly reflects bias, lack of objectivity, and a colonial mindset. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said that this was a part of disinformation to push a false narrative. He said that it compels us to think about the purpose of this exercise and the agenda behind it. He said that clearly, he does not want to give importance to such efforts.
Instructions were given to YouTube-Twitter
The sources also said that the government has also instructed YouTube that if the video is uploaded again on its platform, it will be blocked. He added that Twitter has also been directed to identify and block tweets containing links to videos on other platforms.
