India

Documentary on Modi: Delhi court issues summons to BBC, Wikipedia, Internet Archive on defamation case by BJP member

A still from the documentary by BBC titled, India: The Modi Question.

New Delhi: On Wednesday, a Delhi Court on Wednesday issued summons to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on a defamation suit filed by BJP member Binay Kumar Singh in relation to its documentary titled ‘India: The Modi Question’.

The summons were also issued to Wikimedia Foundation (which funds Wikipedia) and the US-based digital library called Internet Archive by Additional District Judge (ADJ) Ruchika Singla.

“Issue summons of the suit for settlement of issues to the defendant on filing of PF and e-mode returnable on next date of hearing. PF be filed today itself. The defendant is directed to file his written statement within 30 days from the date of service of the summons. Endorsement be made on the summons accordingly,” the Court said in its order, as per Bar and Bench report.

The BJP member Kumar moved the court stating that he is the state executive committee member of the Jharkhand BJP and an active volunteer of the Hindu right-wing outfits Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).

In a documentary released by the British Broadcasting Corporation, it has been claimed that a team sent by the British government to investigate the 2002 violence in Gujarat found Narendra Modi, the then Chief Minister of the state, “directly responsible for a climate of impunity” that led to the violence.

The documentary titled “India: The Modi Question”, was, however, pulled down from YouTube on Wednesday, a day after its release.

The British inquiry team alleged that Modi had prevented the Gujarat Police from acting to stop violence targeted at Muslims, the BBC documentary claimed.

Speaking to the BBC, former foreign secretary, Jack Straw (2001-2006) said he was personally involved in the investigations as the data and results provided were alarming.

“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,” Straw told the BBC, adding, “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.”

A former British diplomat, who remains anonymous described the whole event as a pogrom. To our readers, a pogrom is a term used when there is an organized massacre of a particular ethnic group. In this case, it was the Muslims, the former diplomat said.

“At least 2000 people were murdered during the violence where the vast majority were Muslims. We described it as a pogrom– a deliberate, and politically driven effort targeted at the Muslim community,” the former diplomat told the BBC.

Pertinently, on 28 February 2002, Hindu mobs who were part of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), unleashed massive violence against Muslims in Gujarat that went on for weeks killing thousands of Muslims.

About 3,000 Muslims were killed. Some 20,000 Muslim homes and businesses and 360 places of worship were destroyed, and roughly 150,000 people displaced.

The massacre was unleashed after the burning of 59 Karsevaks on board the Sabarmati Express in Godhra which was probed and declared an accident.

Modi, the current Prime Minister of India, was accused of initiating and condoning the violence, instructing police to stand by and let Hindu mobs do acts of violence against Muslims.

Strong evidence links the Modi administration in Gujarat to the carefully orchestrated anti-Muslim attacks.

Hindu mobs had detailed lists of Muslim residents and businesses, and violence occurred within view of police stations.

An independent media, Tehelka, used hidden cameras to capture some of the accused speaking openly of how the attacks had Modi’s blessings.

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