India’s Ministry of External Affairs has called the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) documentary India: The Modi Question, a propaganda piece and questioned the agenda and purpose behind it. The two-part documentary explores the communal riots that took place in Gujarat in 2002 and Prime Minister Modi’s relationship with the minorities.
Answering questions on the documentary during his weekly press conference, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that it has not been screened in India, so he will only comment on what he has heard about and what his colleagues have seen. “We think this is a propaganda piece, designed to push a particular discredited narrative. The bias, a lack of objectivity and frankly a continuing colonial mindset is visible. If anything, this film is a reflection on the agency or individuals that are peddling this narrative again. It makes us wonder about the purpose of this exercise, the agenda behind it and we do not wish to dignify such efforts,” he said.
The documentary alleges that at the time of the riots, the police had been stopped from taking action. Citing an internal UK government report that had been classified so far, the documentary says that, according to the British team that conducted the inquiry, “Narendra Modi is directly responsible." The inquiry team’s report in 2002 also purportedly said that the riots were to purge Muslims from Gujarat. Answering questions on the report, Bagchi called it the reason behind using the term colonial mindset. “You are asking me about the comments made by a former British Foreign Secretary. He seems to be referring to some internal UK reports. How do I have access to that? It is a 20-year-old report. Why would anyone jump on it now? I heard words like inquiry and investigation. This is the reason we use the term colonial mindset. What investigation? They were diplomats here. Are they ruling the country?” Bagchi said.
The documentary was discussed in the UK Parliament as well with Imran Hussain, a Member of Parliament, asking the UK PM Rishi Sunak if the foreign office knew the full extent of “Narendra Modi’s involvement in the Gujarat massacre that paved the way for the persecution of Muslims and other minorities in India today."
Hussain, who is from the Labour Party, said, “With senior diplomats reporting that the massacre could not have taken place without a climate of impunity created by Modi and he was, in the FCO’s own word, directly responsible for this violence. Given that hundreds were brutally killed and that families in India and across the world including here, in the UK, are still without justice, does the Prime Minister agree with the diplomats in the Foreign Office that Modi was directly responsible."
Responding to the question, Rishi Sunak said, “The UK government’s position on this has been clear and hasn't changed. Of course we don't tolerate persecution, whether it is anywhere. But I am not sure I agree at all with the characterisation that the honourable gentleman has put forward."