India court bars airing of Al Jazeera documentary
A court in India has restrained Al Jazeera from broadcasting an investigative film on hate crimes against Muslims by Hindu supremacist groups in the country.
The Allahabad High Court in the northern Uttar Pradesh state on Wednesday barred the Doha-based media network from airing the film India … Who Lit the Fuse?, saying the broadcast could lead to “evil consequences”.pending consideration of the cause in the present petition,” the court said as it heard a petition against the film filed by an Indian national.
The petitioner, Sudhir Kumar, alleged the documentary had the potential to create disharmony among citizens and threaten India’s integrity, according to Indian media reports.
The court directed the Indian government to take measures to ensure the film is not broadcast or promoted on social media unless its contents have been examined by the authorities and the necessary authorisation obtained.
The court will next hear the case on July 6.India … Who Lit the Fuse? is part of Al Jazeera’s Point Blank investigation series. Backed by testimony and documents, it uncovers the activities of Hindu supremacist outfits, such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the far-right ideological mentor of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The RSS, a secretive militia group with millions of members across India, was inspired by the Nazis in Germany. Formed in 1925, it aims to create an ethnic Hindu state out of a constitutionally secular India.
The group was briefly banned in 1948 after one of its suspected members assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of India’s independence movement from the British.
The Al Jazeera documentary features an interview with a defector from the RSS, who reveals chilling details of his training sessions in RSS camps, allegedly overseen by members of the Indian Army.
Sign up for Al JazeeraIndia … Who Lit the Fuse? is part of Al Jazeera’s Point Blank investigation series. Backed by testimony and documents, it uncovers the activities of Hindu supremacist outfits, such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the far-right ideological mentor of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The RSS, a secretive militia group with millions of members across India, was inspired by the Nazis in Germany. Formed in 1925, it aims to create an ethnic Hindu state out of a constitutionally secular India.
The group was briefly banned in 1948 after one of its suspected members assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of India’s independence movement from the British.
The Al Jazeera documentary features an interview with a defector from the RSS, who reveals chilling details of his training sessions in RSS camps, allegedly overseen by members of the Indian Army.
