A BBC documentary focused on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s relationship with the country’s Muslim minority has led New Delhi to accuse the broadcaster of a “colonial mindset” and threatens to disrupt U.K.-India ties. India: The Modi Question examines Modi’s role as chief minister of Gujarat during a three-day period of communal violence in 2002 in which more than 1,000 people died, including 790 Muslims. Despite not airing in India, the documentary returns the events to the public eye, which has angered India’s ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The first part of the documentary was released last week, with a second installment scheduled to air Tuesday. Over the weekend, India blocked the film and banned people from sharing clips on social media, citing emergency powers under its information technology laws. Twitter and YouTube have complied with the move. (In effect, this serves the BBC’s interests by protecting the documentary from copyright violations.) The ban has only brought more attention to the program, with many people, including opposition politicians, protesting the move and providing links to download it.
