BBC Documentary Row: After JNU, DU and University of Hyderabad, Documentary on Modi Screened at FTII in Pune

The prestigious Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune screened the banned BBC documentary `India: The Modi Question`, the student's association informed on Saturday.

BBC Documentary Row: Documentary on Modi screened at FTII in Pune

BBC documentary: The FTII Students` Association (FTIISA) said the documentary was screened on January 26, coinciding with the 74th Republic Day celebrations.

"On 26/01/23, we screened the banned BBC documentary `India: The Modi Question` at FTII," said an FTIISA statement issued on social media on Saturday.

"Throughout history, banning of literature, music, and in recent times, media, has been a sign of a crumbling society. The act of scrutiny should be welcomed by our elected representatives. Instead, they quickly tag it as false propaganda and try to shove it under the rug. They should know that the most sure-fire way for something to be watched is to ban it," the FTIISA said in the Instagram post.

"However, the BBC documentary barely scratches the surface of the kind of violence that has been perpetuated throughout the country for a dedicated, singular, vicious purpose," the FTIISA added.

"It would be startling to us if anyone in India is surprised by the happenings in this documentary. Communal violence has become a part and parcel of the ruling party`s politics," it said.

Meanwhile, it`s learnt that the FTII management has initiated a probe into the screening of the documentary on campus.

Earlier on Saturday, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai had called off its planned screening of the BBC documentary, following protests by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha.

However, though the TISS management had warned against the screening and did not allow the use of a projector, the Progressive Students Forum showed the documentary on students` mobile phones, laptops and tablets.