The controversy over the BBC documentary made against Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not taking its name. Protests against it are continuing across the country after the alleged censoring by the government. Screening of this documentary is being claimed in many universities. It is alleged that the BJP government is doing its own thing and is violating the freedom of speech by censoring the documentary.
The government has been accused of violating freedom of speech many times. The Congress government also banned many books and films during the Emergency.
This is not the first time that a government has banned a film, documentary or book for political reasons. Earlier, action was taken on controversial films and documentaries in the governments of Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Manmohan Singh. During the Indira government, many films were stopped before release.
These books were banned
It is said that between 1964 and 1997, 17 books were banned during the tenure of 7 Prime Ministers. Out of these, 7 books were such that were banned during the tenure of Indira Gandhi. ‘Satanic Verses’ was banned in the year 1988, when Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister. This was one of the famous books of Salman Rushdie.
Janata Party government also banned
During the tenure of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who came to power not only from the Congress but also from the Janata Party, a stay was imposed on the sale of ‘Price of Power’. In this book, it was claimed about the current PM that Morarji Desai was an agent of the American intelligence agency. Apart from this, the book ‘Smash and Grab: Annexation of Sikkim’ was also banned after a petition was filed in the Delhi High Court.
These films have been banned
Not only books but films were banned by the previous governments. These films include films like ‘Kissa Kursi Ka’, ‘Aandhi’. ‘Tamil Drama Kutrapathirikai’, ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Inshallah Kashmir’ have also been banned by previous governments.
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