New Delhi: A group of students from JNU was prevented from screening a banned BBC documentary on PM Narendra Modi on Tuesday. In response, the students proceeded to watch the documentary on a laptop.
“Around 9pm, when the screening was scheduled to begin, 15-20 university security guards arrived and stopped us. We then played the documentary on a laptop, and about 200 of us watched it,” said Sajid, a member of AISF and joint secretary of JNUSU. Ahead of the screening, AISF circulated pamphlets announcing the event.
On Monday, the university administration issued an advisory stating: “Such an unauthorised activity may disturb communal harmony and the peaceful environment of the university campus. The stakeholders are also advised not to get provoked by this pamphlet, which is unauthorised and unwarranted.”
JNUSU condemned the notice, saying, “The advisory is a blatant attack on the students’ fundamental right to freedom of expression and reflects the administration’s alignment with forces that stifle dissent.”
It added, “In 2023, the screening was disrupted by a deliberate power cut, followed by violent assaults on students by members of a student outfit. The administration, instead of protecting students, turned a blind eye. This latest advisory only reinforces its complicity in silencing critical voices.”
