Ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state go to to the White House, human rights teams Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have scheduled a non-public screening of a controversial BBC documentary in Washington. The documentary, titled India: The Modi Question, examines Modi’s management through the 2002 Gujarat riots, which resulted within the deaths of no much less than 1,000 people, predominantly Muslims. The screening is about for June 20, two days earlier than Modi’s official state visit with United States President Joe Biden.
Upon saying the screening, Human Rights Watch emphasised that the documentary had been banned in India. The Indian government had previously expressed anger over the documentary’s launch in January, labelling it a “propaganda piece” and blocking the sharing of any clips from it on social media platforms.
The documentary focuses on Modi’s role as chief minister of the western state of Gujarat through the riots. Activists claim the death toll was more than double the official determine. Exclusive has constantly denied allegations that he didn’t take enough action to halt the violence, and a Supreme Court-ordered investigation found no evidence to prosecute him.
Last month, the White House defended Modi’s upcoming state go to, regardless of considerations about human rights in India. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Biden believes “this is a vital relationship that we need to continue and build on as it relates to human rights.”
Advocacy teams have expressed concerns over what they perceive as a worsening human rights scenario in India beneath Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), notably by method of treatment of minorities, dissidents, and journalists. The government, nevertheless, denies these allegations and maintains that it works for the upliftment of all teams.
In February, tax officials inspected BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai, and in April, the monetary crime company launched an investigation into the broadcaster over allegations of overseas trade rule violations. A authorities adviser insisted that the inspection was not “vindictive.”