BBC Documentary Row: DU forms 7-member panel to probe ruckus outside Arts Faculty

In the midst of a commotion outside Delhi University’s Arts faculty building, the Vice Chancellor of the University has appointed a seven-member team to investigate the incident. This committee was founded to impose discipline and keep the peace on campus.

They will look into the event that occurred outside the Faculty of Arts on January 27 in particular. The committee, chaired by DU Proctor Rajini Abbi, has been given until 5 p.m. on January 30 to deliver its findings to Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh.

“The other members of the committee include Professor Ajay Kumar Singh of the Department of Commerce, Professor Manoj Kumar Singh, Joint Proctor, Professor Sanjoy Roy of the Department of Social Work, Professor Rama, Principal of Hansraj College, Professor Dinesh Khattar, Principal of Kirorimal College, and Gaje Singh, Chief Security Officer. The Committee may specifically look into the incident of the 27th of January, 2023 which occurred outside the Faculty of Arts and opposite gate No. 4, University of Delhi,” DU said in a notice.

On Friday, there was significant excitement outside the Arts faculty building after some students attempted to show the controversial BBC documentary on PM Modi.

Following a call by NSUI-KSU for the showing of the BBC documentary series, Delhi Police detained approximately 20 individuals outside the Faculty of Arts at the University of Delhi.

Outside the Faculty of Arts, provisions under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) are implemented. The BBC documentary has sparked a new debate in the country after the administration condemned it earlier this month, calling it a “propaganda piece” aimed to propagate a discredited narrative.

The government also removed the BBC documentary ‘India: The Modi Question’ from social media networks such as Twitter and YouTube. JNUSU members allegedly encountered a “deliberate” power interruption while displaying the disputed BBC documentary at the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus in the national capital.

Despite the administration’s claim that the documentary is a “propaganda piece,” the opposition uses it to challenge the government on the issue of free speech. Earlier on Wednesday, 13 students were detained when they attempted to cause a commotion outside Jamia Millia Islamia University by protesting the showing of a BBC documentary.

According to the Delhi Police, the university administration refused to allow the showing of the BBC documentary on campus.