July 31, 2015, DHNS
The Union Home Ministry’s move to restrict access for journalists, film-makers and NGOs into prisons across the country represents a direct threat to the right to free speech and expression. The move comes in the aftermath of the documentary “India’s Daughter” by British filmmaker Leslie Udwin on the December 16, 2012 Delhi gangrape. The Narendra
Modi government banned the documentary on the grounds that it projected a negative image of the country. Udwin had interviewed convict Mukesh Singh, on death row, in Tihar jail. The government charged her with misusing the access given to interview the convict. The filmmaker has dismissed all the charges.
The government’s clampdown is a knee-jerk reaction that represents yet another attempt by the state to dilute various freedoms. The latest restriction lends credence to the growing feeling that the BJP-led government at the Centre is heavy-handed in its decision-making and does not seem to care about the constitutional rights and privileges that citizens are entitled to. The recent statement by the government in the Supreme Court that the right to privacy is not a fundamental right, the move to restrict access to journalists into the home ministry offices in Delhi, the support for Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code criminalising homosexuality, the interference in several autonomous institutions like the IIMs and the IITs besides attempting to rewrite the educational curriculum are clear indications of the government’s anti-democratic mindset.
No further proof of this is necessary. The guidelines on access into prisons read like directives of a tin-pot dictatorship. Only scripts that purport to show India in a positive light will be taken for consideration. Film-makers will be monitored right through their activities inside the prison. The top officer of the prison or the second senior-most official will have to monitor the filmmaker. If the minder thinks necessary, he can intervene and stop the filmmaking or interview midway. All the equipment used by the filmmaker will have to be deposited with the prison authorities for three days after the filming is completed. Once the film is ready for release, it will have to be vetted by the prison authorities who will then issue a no-objection certificate only after which it can be screened. The guidelines, applicable to written articles as well, are shameful and make a mockery of India’s democracy. They resemble censorship during the time of the Emergency. This was precisely what the media was told to do at that time. It is difficult to shake off the feeling that we are again headed in that direction. The media must resist this brazen encroachment on its freedom.
Modi government banned the documentary on the grounds that it projected a negative image of the country. Udwin had interviewed convict Mukesh Singh, on death row, in Tihar jail. The government charged her with misusing the access given to interview the convict. The filmmaker has dismissed all the charges.
The government’s clampdown is a knee-jerk reaction that represents yet another attempt by the state to dilute various freedoms. The latest restriction lends credence to the growing feeling that the BJP-led government at the Centre is heavy-handed in its decision-making and does not seem to care about the constitutional rights and privileges that citizens are entitled to. The recent statement by the government in the Supreme Court that the right to privacy is not a fundamental right, the move to restrict access to journalists into the home ministry offices in Delhi, the support for Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code criminalising homosexuality, the interference in several autonomous institutions like the IIMs and the IITs besides attempting to rewrite the educational curriculum are clear indications of the government’s anti-democratic mindset.
No further proof of this is necessary. The guidelines on access into prisons read like directives of a tin-pot dictatorship. Only scripts that purport to show India in a positive light will be taken for consideration. Film-makers will be monitored right through their activities inside the prison. The top officer of the prison or the second senior-most official will have to monitor the filmmaker. If the minder thinks necessary, he can intervene and stop the filmmaking or interview midway. All the equipment used by the filmmaker will have to be deposited with the prison authorities for three days after the filming is completed. Once the film is ready for release, it will have to be vetted by the prison authorities who will then issue a no-objection certificate only after which it can be screened. The guidelines, applicable to written articles as well, are shameful and make a mockery of India’s democracy. They resemble censorship during the time of the Emergency. This was precisely what the media was told to do at that time. It is difficult to shake off the feeling that we are again headed in that direction. The media must resist this brazen encroachment on its freedom.
