New Delhi: Defying the ban imposed by the Indian government on the telecast of documentary film ‘India’s Daughter’, which is based on the interview of one of the convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape case, the Britain-based British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on Wednesday night (3:30 am today Indian time) broadcast the controversial film.
Even as the Indian government was pressing it not to show the controversial documentary on the December 16 gang rape, the BBC went ahead and aired ‘India’s Daughter’ on Wednesday night, saying that the film had handled the issue “responsibly”. Originally, the BBC had decided to show it on March 8, coinciding with International Women’s Day, but suddenly decided to advance it even as a storm was raging in India, saying it will enable viewers to see this “incredibly powerful documentary at the earliest opportunity”.
This harrowing documentary, made with the full support and cooperation of the victim’s parents, provides a revealing insight into a horrific crime that sent shock waves around the world and led to protests across India demanding changes in attitudes towards women,” the BBC said in a statement. Under no circumstances, this documentary will be allowed to be broadcast… government has taken necessary action and secured an order restraining the telecast of the film,” Union home minister Rajnath Singh told Parliament.
The documentary included an interview conducted by British filmmaker Leslee Udwin and BBC, of Mukesh Singh, the driver of the bus in which the 23-year-old paramedical student was brutally gangraped by six men on December 16, 2012. Mukesh has made derogatory statements against women, Delhi police said.
A Delhi court has restrained media from publishing, broadcasting, telecasting or uploading the interview on the internet. On her part, Udwin appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to view the documentary, which, she said, was a “gift to India”, before any action was taken on it.
She said India has shown the lead globally in the wake of the horrific crime which had led to protests across the country. Rape was an issue of global concern which she has highlighted in the documentary, she said.
Bureau Report
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