Journalists' body IJU demands lifting of ban on BBC documentary

HYDERABAD: The Indian Journalists Union ( IJU) today demanded that the central government immediately revoke the ban imposed on the documentary film "India's Daughter" based on gang-rape of Nirbhaya in Delhi in 2012, saying it amounted to severe restriction on the freedom of expression guaranteed under the Constitution.

In a statement issued here, IJU President SN Sinha, Secretary-General Devulapalli Amar and Press Council of India Member K Amarnath rejected the argument that the film glorified one of the convicts in the case, Mukesh Singh, by highlighting his 'perverse' comments slighting the feminine gender and justifying his heinous crime.

"On the other hand, the film brought to the fore, the deep prejudices harboured in the minds of a section of the people in the country. While we publish and propagate the gender-insensitive dictums of a section that fancies itself as the 'guardians of public morality', it is hypocritical to think that such documentaries will damage the prestige of the country abroad", the IJU said.

The IJU leaders asked the government of India to immediately revoke the ban on the broadcast or publication of the contents of the documentary as, they said, it amounted to unreasonable restrictions on the fundamental right of the people to freedom of expression and freedom to know.