Dubious BBC ‘documentary’ on PM Modi serves a crucial purpose in showing India an unflattering mirror

It is not surprising that the BBC is up to its old mischiefs again. The only takeaway of note from the controversy over BBC’s malignant hitjob on prime minister Narendra Modi is its amplification by a section of Indian media and civil society and the predictable reaction by the grand old party that has given up on fighting Modi politically and hopes exogenous factors would do what it has been unable to — remove Modi from power. The BBC, for reasons best known to the broadcaster, has decided not to screen the documentary in India, part of which was aired on Tuesday and its snippets picked up by various social media handles. On Wednesday, the BBC removed the documentary from YouTube where it was apparently uploaded by ‘others’. A report in The Hindu quotes BBC, as saying, “the documentary on YouTube was not uploaded by the BBC. As is standard practice, we follow procedure to have illegal uploads of any BBC content removed.” In a tweet, the official handle of the Congress party called the BBC “coward”. It apparently feels disappointed at being denied the chance to amplify malignant propaganda by a foreign entity from a country that once colonized us. It reflects the frustration of a party that is beleaguered by losses and doesn’t know how to meet the Modi challenge. Congress claims that it was at the forefront of the nationalist movement. It is a sad reality check on the current state of the Congress — helmed by a confused leader-cum-discounted philosopher — that it doesn’t understand the first lesson of politics in a post-colonial society. To go after Modi with a propaganda piece funded by the British government is political suicide. It gives BJP a juicy weapon to launch a counterattack against the Congress. The Congress’s stance on the entire controversy also reflects little respect for India’s judiciary that, after years of thorough investigation, exonerated Modi, the then chief minister of Gujarat. Modi came out stronger from both the political and judicial trial on Gujarat riots. To now hope that a dubious documentary which relies on a hitherto unknown “secret” British foreign office report will do the ‘job’ indicates the depths of desperation in Congress. The amplification of this sham by certain political operatives in civil society and sections of Indian media demonstrates how the British colonial project came about. There were enough faultlines for the British to exploit — faultlines that sadly exist even 75 years post Independence. As for the BBC, former diplomat and then foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal in a tweet on Thursday said he “aware of mischief by the UK mission.” Sibal said he was “informed by a EU envoy” that the UK mission had “sent their diplomat to Gujarat and circulated a highly slanted ‘report’ to EU envoys in Delhi.” Sibal tweeted that he had issued a “warning to missions in Delhi to not interfere in our internal affairs.” Sibal called the “secret” UK government report on Gujarat riots “absurd”, questioning “how can a foreign government conduct secret enquiry in another country? Did they send people undercover? How such an on the spot enquiry took place without the government of India knowing?” Modi was exonerated in 2021 by the Supreme Court following a long-drawn investigation by the top-court mandated special investigation team (SIT). Another petition questioning the verdict was dismissed last year, and the Supreme Court, while dismissing the petition as motivated by “ulterior designs”, said “all those involved in such abuse of process need to be in the dock.” The BBC documentary, that India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has dismissed as reflective of a “colonial mindset” and a “propaganda piece designed to push a particular discredited narrative,” pivots on the comments by then British foreign secretary Jack Straw in Tony Blair government who apparently set up the clandestine investigation. This is the same Jack Straw who had conjured up evidence of WMD to justify a war on Iraq and was accused of peddling lies by his own countrymen. This is the same Jack Straw who attacked journalists for exposing his lies. This is the same Jack Straw who was implicated in the Chilcot Report. So, we have a so-called documentary created by a foreign entity based on the ‘findings’ of a certified liar who suffers from an imperialist illusion, and a section of Indians are cheerleading the ‘revelations’ because these cast unverified aspersions on a politician they love to hate. It would have been easier to simply dismiss the BBC ‘documentary’ with the contempt it deserves but we can’t because in an ironical way it shows our key weakness as a nation. Interventionist forces will always find fertile ground to exploit and pose a challenge to India’s integrity. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.