Gujarat’s communal violence from 21 years ago started diplomatic pressure in Delhi. Recently the British news agency BBC-2 aired a documentary on the Gujarat violence, called ‘The Modi Question’. The Indian government is not at all happy with the way Narendra Modi has come up there. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also feels that the characterization of Modi is not right there.
In the wake of the 2002 Gujarat violence, the documentary highlights the situation of minorities in that state. Although the documentary is not shown in India, it is being seen (partially) in other parts of the world and through social media. Although, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi had no role in the unrest, the Supreme Court said in the final judgment of the case last year.
Statement from the Ministry of External Affairs
In this situation, the Gujarat violence and Modi’s role started to be discussed anew, and the center was agitated yesterday. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “First of all, it should be noted that this documentary was not made in India. So what I am saying is based on hearsay and the words of some of my colleagues. It is good to be clear that we think this documentary is actually a disinformation. A baseless commentary has been made. This documentary is biased, not informative. After all, this documentary is based on the colonial mentality.” According to Bagchi, “What is worth noting is that this documentary is focused on an organization and an individual. What we are even more surprised by is, what is the purpose of making this documentary? Frankly, we are not willing to accept such an attempt.”
However, the BBC’s statement about this reaction of the Indian government is not known. However, when a member of parliament of Pakistani origin raised the topic of the documentary in the British Parliament, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stopped him. He said that he thinks that the characterization of Modi in the documentary is not correct. According to diplomatic sources, the issue of concluding a bilateral free trade agreement is pending. Now Britain does not want to spoil relations with India with this documentary.
Delhi is not giving importance to Sharif’s proposal
Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s recent peace offer and then his office’s attempt to impose conditions on the proposal after being a bit hesitant – New Delhi is not taking any of these seriously.
Although the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi, said nothing on the 17th and 18th of January, but yesterday, he made this clear. In his words, “I saw the speech of the Prime Minister of Pakistan. I also heard the explanation he gave in his secretariat. Before this, a leader of Pakistan also said something about Kashmir. As a result, we have no idea about the importance of the Prime Minister’s speech. We want all the neighbouring countries, including Pakistan, to maintain a normal relationship with. But discussion needs a supportive environment. Diplomacy cannot be held in the midst of violence.”