Groups of students at Kolkata’s Presidency and Jadavpur universities and Mumbai’s Tata Institute of Social Sciences lined up multiple screenings of the BBC’s controversial documentary about Prime Minister Narendra Modi on their campuses over the past few days. days to come, defying Center’s orders to remove it from social media and protesting alleged covert efforts to discourage people from seeing the film.
One such screening held at the Government Law School of Ernakulam on Wednesday was interrupted when the principal allegedly cut off the power supply to the campus. Five screenings have been scheduled for Presidents and JU Thursdays onwards. The students’ determination to watch the documentary was bolstered by an alleged attempt to disrupt a screening at Delhi’s JNU on Tuesday, organizers at both campuses in Kolkata said.
“Censorship or banning of films and theaters that are critical of the government is not new in India. Our screenings are intended to protect students’ right to dissent,” said SFI’s secretary general. President Rishav Saha said.
The Presidency Film Association, which is hosting a second screening on campus next Wednesday, said, “This initiative will demonstrate that no government or political party can silence the voices of dissent in a progressive campus space”.
The Progressive Students Forum, a student body at TISS, plans to screen the documentary on Saturday night and is expected to have an audience of 50. Students are planning to let security staff know about the movie screening and gathering. So far, the collective has received an encouraging response from the students, organizers said.
One such screening held at the Government Law School of Ernakulam on Wednesday was interrupted when the principal allegedly cut off the power supply to the campus. Five screenings have been scheduled for Presidents and JU Thursdays onwards. The students’ determination to watch the documentary was bolstered by an alleged attempt to disrupt a screening at Delhi’s JNU on Tuesday, organizers at both campuses in Kolkata said.
“Censorship or banning of films and theaters that are critical of the government is not new in India. Our screenings are intended to protect students’ right to dissent,” said SFI’s secretary general. President Rishav Saha said.
The Presidency Film Association, which is hosting a second screening on campus next Wednesday, said, “This initiative will demonstrate that no government or political party can silence the voices of dissent in a progressive campus space”.
The Progressive Students Forum, a student body at TISS, plans to screen the documentary on Saturday night and is expected to have an audience of 50. Students are planning to let security staff know about the movie screening and gathering. So far, the collective has received an encouraging response from the students, organizers said.
