Media Network’s film “India… Who Lit the Fuse?” looked into hate crimes against Muslims by Hindu nationalist groups.
An Indian court has banned Al Jazeera from showing an investigative film about hate crimes against Muslims by the Hindu supremacist group in the country.
The Allahabad High Court in northern Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday banned the Doha-based media network from showing the film “India… Who Lit the Fuse?” , saying the broadcast could lead to “evil consequences.”
“Considering the possible adverse consequences of the telecast/broadcast of the film…we consider that the telecast/telecast of the film should be postponed pending consideration of the reasons for this petition,” the court said it heard an Indian national’s appeal to the A petition made by the film.
The petitioner, Sudhir Kumar, claimed the documentary had the potential to create discord among citizens and threaten the integrity of India, according to Indian media reports.
The court directed the Indian government to take steps to ensure that the film will not be broadcast or promoted on social media unless its content has been vetted by the authorities and the necessary authorizations obtained.
The court will hear the case on July 6.
India… who lit the fuse? Part of Al Jazeera’s Point Blank investigative series. Backed by testimony and documents, it exposed the activities of Hindu supremacist groups such as Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a far-right ideological mentor of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The RSS is a secret militia with millions of members in India, inspired by the Nazis in Germany. It was formed in 1925 to create a Hindu nation-state out of constitutionally secular India.
The group was briefly banned in 1948 after a suspected member assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, leader of India’s independence movement from Britain.
The Al Jazeera documentary interviewed a defector from the RSS who revealed gruesome details of his training at RSS camps, allegedly overseen by members of the Indian Army.
The film also describes the harassment and attacks on nearly 700,000 Muslims in the BJP-ruled northeastern state of Assam. Since the citizenship law was passed in 2019, Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam fear losing their citizenship and being deported to neighboring Bangladesh.
Al Jazeera’s investigation also revealed a widespread campaign to demolish Muslim property in several Indian states. The campaigns have included the demolition of homes and businesses in what critics say is an attempt to economically and socially disenfranchise India’s Muslim minority.
A spokesman for the Bharatiya Janata Party rejected the allegations in the documentary, saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is committed to the rule of law in the Hindu-majority country and that individuals accused of targeting Muslims face severe consequences.
He also defended RSS, saying it was non-discriminatory and committed to the benefit of Indians of all backgrounds, including historically disadvantaged groups such as Muslims, Christians, tribal peoples and Dalits.
The move against the Al Jazeera documentary follows a similar ban on a BBC film that questioned Modi’s role as chief minister of Gujarat state. In 2002, riots in Gujarat killed more than 1,000 Muslims. Activists say the actual death toll is double that of Gujarat. that number.
Since its films were banned in January, its offices in New Delhi and Mumbai have been raided, with Indian authorities accusing the UK-based network of breaking tax rules. The BBC has denied the allegations and said it stands by the facts presented in its two-part film.
