TISS students in Mumbai watch BBC documentary amid protest

Mumbai: Several students of the Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) have watched a controversial BBC documentary on the 2002 Godhra riots amid protest by the Bharatiya Janata Party's youth wing outside the campus, an police official said on Sunday.

The students had earlier planned to arrange a mass screening of the documentary "India: The Modi Question", but they watched it on Saturday on laptops and mobile phones at a decided time and venue despite a warning by the institute, while tight police security was deployed outside the campus, he said.

Activists of the BJP's youth wing had come to know of it and they reached outside the campus. They demanded the screening of the documentary be cancelled and shouted slogans against the institute.

The Centre had last week directed social media platforms Twitter and YouTube to block links to the documentary "India: The Modi Question". The Ministry of External Affairs has trashed the documentary as a "propaganda piece" that lacks objectivity and reflects a colonial mindset.

A large number of police personnel, including women, were deployed outside the TISS campus to maintain proper law and order, the official said.

The BJP's youth wing has submitted a complaint to stop the screening of the documentary, the official said, adding no FIR has been registered and no arrest made so far.

The Progressive Student Forum (PSF-TISS) issued a statement saying the PSF congratulates and salutes the brave students of TISS for joining the mass watching of the BBC documentary 'India: The Modi Question', in huge numbers and making it a grand success.

"Despite the BJP's attack and maligning campaign upon TISS and the institute administration refusing any form of cooperation, close to 200+ students turned up in solidarity to our cause," the statement said.