Indian court halts airing of documentary on Muslim minority

Source: The Guardian

Indian court halts airing of documentary on Muslim minority

Ruling dismays free speech activists who accuse Modi government of systematically shrinking space for dissent

Amrit Dhillon in Delhi
Fri 16 Jun 2023 11.22 BST
Last modified on Fri 16 Jun 2023 14.44 BST

An Indian court has blocked the screening of an Al Jazeera documentary about the country’s Muslim minority, fuelling fears that the right to criticise the government is being eroded.

The Allahabad high court was acting on a public interest petition filed by Sudhir Kumar, an activist, who said he had learned from media reports that the documentary Who Lit the Fuse? portrayed India’s 172-million Muslims as living in fear of the Narendra Modi government. He also alleged that it showed state agencies acting against the interests of Muslims.

On this basis, Kumar argued, the documentary should not be broadcast as it would disrupt social harmony.

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The supreme court lawyer Colin Gonsalves said that unlike films – which need to be certified before they could be publicly screened – documentaries did not need any prior approval. Further, he said the supreme court had clarified numerous times that the right to free speech included the right to express opinions critical of the government.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/16/indian-court-halts-airing-of-documentary-on-muslim-minority

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