India court bars airing of Al Jazeera documentary
The media network’s film, India…Who Lit the Fuse?, examines hate crimes by Hindu nationalist groups against Muslims.
A court in India has stopped Al Jazeera from airing an investigative film about hate crimes committed against Muslims by the country’s supremacist Hindu groups.
The Supreme Court of Allahabad in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday banned the Doha-based media network from showing the film India… Who Lit the Fuse?
“In view of the adverse consequences likely to arise from the broadcast/broadcasting of a film…we believe that the broadcast/broadcasting of the film in question is postponed pending consideration of the cause of action in this petition”, the court said. it heard a petition against the film filed by an Indian national.
The petitioner, Sudhir Kumar, claimed that the documentary had the potential to create civil strife and threaten the integrity of India, according to Indian media reports.
The court ordered the Indian government to take steps to ensure that the film is not broadcast or promoted on social media unless the content has been investigated by the authorities and the necessary permissions obtained.
The court will then hear the case on July 6.
India… Who lit the fuse? is part of Al Jazeera’s series of Point Blank investigations. Backed by testimonials and documents, it exposes the activities of Hindu supremacy outfits, such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the far-right ideological mentor of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The RSS, a secret militia group with millions of members across India, was inspired by the Nazis in Germany. Formed in 1925, it aims to create an ethnic Hindu state out of a constitutionally secular India.
The group was briefly banned in 1948 after one of its suspected members assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian independence movement from the British.
The Al Jazeera documentary features an interview with an RSS defector who reveals chilling details of his training sessions in RSS camps, allegedly overseen by members of the Indian military.
The film also depicts the harassment and assault of nearly 700,000 Muslims in the BJP-controlled northeastern state of Assam. Since the passing of a citizenship law in 2019, Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam fear losing their nationality and being deported to neighboring Bangladesh.
The Al Jazeera investigation also reveals widespread campaigns in multiple Indian states to demolish Muslim property. The campaigns include tearing down homes and businesses, which critics say is an attempt to disenfranchise India’s Muslim minority economically and socially.
A BJP spokesperson rejected the allegations in the documentary, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is committed to the rule of law in the Hindu-majority country and individuals accused of attacking Muslims would face dire consequences.
He also championed the RSS, calling it non-discriminatory and working for the good of Indians of all backgrounds, including Muslims, Christians, tribes and historically disadvantaged groups such as the Dalits.
The move against the Al Jazeera documentary follows a similar ban on a BBC film that questioned Modi’s role when he was chief minister of Gujarat state, where more than 1,000 Muslims were killed in riots in 2002. Activists say the actual death toll is twice that number.
Since the ban on the BBC film in January, offices in New Delhi and Mumbai have been raided and Indian authorities have accused the UK-based network of tax violations. The BBC denied the allegations and said it stands by the facts stated in the two-part film.