MEA slams BBC documentary on Modi, YouTube pulls down the show

• The bias, lack of objectivity and continuing colonial mindset is blatantly visible: Foreign Ministry spokesperson
• Former UK foreign secretary Jack Straw made an appearance in the first part of the docuseries and talked about his ‘concerns’
• The second part of the series is scheduled to be broadcast on January 24

The BBC’s two-part series called “India: The Modi Question” has provoked sharp reactions in India with the foreign ministry dismissing the documentary on Thursday, calling it “propaganda.”

According to the BBC, the documentary will examine how “Modi’s premiership has been dogged by persistent allegations about the attitude of his government towards India’s Muslim population.”

Foreign ministry dismissed a BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi which questioned his leadership during the 2002 Gujarat riots. “The bias, lack of objectivity and continuing colonial mindset is blatantly visible,” foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

The foreign minister did not agree with the depiction and termed the documentary a “discredited narrative”.  “It makes us wonder about the purpose of this exercise and the agenda behind it, and we do not wish to dignify such efforts,” he told a news conference.

“The documentary is a reflection on the agency that has made it. We think it is a propaganda piece designed to push a particular discredited narrative. The bias, lack of objectivity and continuing colonial mindset are blatantly visible. Can’t dignify such a film,”  said Bagchi.

Former UK foreign secretary Jack Straw made an appearance in the first part of the docuseries and talked about his “concerns”. He said there was an inquiry into what happened in Godhra in 2002.

The documentary, ‘India: The Modi Question,’ looks at “the tensions between India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the country’s Muslim minority”, as well as “investigating claims” concerning his role in the large-scale the 2002 Gujarat communal violence in the months of February and March that left “over a thousand dead.”

BBC released the series, the first episode of which was aired on Tuesday and was removed from YouTube on Wednesday. The second part of the series is scheduled to be broadcast on January 24.

The report is a result of an inquiry set up by the UK government, which was “alarmed” by what had happened in Gujarat. “I was very worried about it. I took a great deal of personal interest because India is an important country with whom we (the UK) have relations. And so, we had to handle it very carefully,” recalled former foreign secretary, Jack Straw (2001-2006), on camera, in the documentary, wrote The Wire. “What we did was establish an inquiry and have a team go to Gujarat and find out for themselves what had happened. And they produced a very thorough report.” It further added that a report given to the UK government by the inquiry team mentioned that the “extent of the violence was much greater than reported” and there was a “widespread and systematic rape of Muslim women” as the violence was “politically motivated.” It further stated that the riots aimed to “purge Muslims from Hindu areas.” “That undoubtedly came from Modi,” the documentary alleged.

Former UK foreign secretary Jack Straw made an appearance in the first part of the documentary and talked about his “concerns”.

-INDIA NEWS STREAM