Skip to main content

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By A Representative 

 The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."
"We at the National Press Club demand in the strongest terms that the government stop its persecution of journalists and its suppression of press freedom in India”, O’Reilly said. Among those who have spoken at the high pofile NPC include US presidents, monarchs, prime ministers and premiers of different countries, members of Congress, Cabinet officials, ambassadors, scholars, entertainers, business leaders and athletes.
Speaking at the panel discussion which followed the screening of the documentary which recalled 2002 Gujarat riots, Imran Dawood, a British citizen, said the rioters carried out “targeted attacks on Muslims,” using “the same tactics as in Nazi Germany.”
Imran's uncle Yusuf Dawood, calling himself spokesperson for the family, told the audience that it took until August 2002, six months after the riots, to even get confirmation of the murders of his family members -- what he called a sign of an official cover-up. “Everything we do in the UK is completely opposite of what happens in India,” he added.
Yusuf Dawood noted, bootleg copies of the documentary are circulating underground in India, but not on social media that he called “a billionaire's club” run by the likes of Elon Musk, which he said are “poking a hot needle into our values.”
Much of the panel's discussion focused on India's attempts to keep the documentary from reaching Indian audiences. Aakashi Bhatt, daughter of jailed former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, told participants that many of India's institutions, including the media and judiciary, “are subverted from top to bottom” and “used by the regime to do its dirty work.”
She said, after her father testified publicly against Modi’s complicity in the riots, the Indian government bulldozed her family home. Commenting on her father's life imprisonment shortly after this destruction, she said, “My father was arrested for the death in custody of a man he never met. He was thousands of kilometres away while the man died in police custody, which was a death deemed to be from medical reasons. His arrest is a complete sham."
Aakashi Bhatt further said, the BBC documentary was only the “tip of the iceberg” when it came to Modi’s complicity. “These were not spontaneous but orchestrated killings,” she stated. “They did not last for three days, as the documentary said, but rather three months. Police not only stood down, but in fact aided and abetted the rioters as they raped and killed Muslims. And so much of it was due to one man's political ambition: Narendra Modi.”
The NPC and the National Press Club Journalism Institute on January 30 are known to have released a statement on the decision by the government of India to censor the airing of the BBC news documentary. “We strongly urge the government of India to rescind its ban on the BBC documentary and to allow the citizens of India to decide for themselves whether they agree or disagree with its findings,” it had said.
Steve Reilly, governor on the National Press Club board, who also condemned the Modi government's "attacks on free press", including its recent ban of the BBC documentary, introduced the screening of the film, which, it was claimed "showcases decades of evidence showing how Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is centrally responsible for the violence of the Gujarat Pogrom of 2002."

Comments

TRENDING

Wave of disappearances sparks human rights fears for activists in Delhi

By Harsh Thakor*  A philosophy student from Zakir Hussain College, Delhi University, and an activist associated with Nazariya magazine, Rudra, has been reported missing since the morning of July 19, 2025. This disappearance adds to a growing concern among human rights advocates regarding the escalating number of detentions and disappearances of activists in Delhi.

How community leaders overcome obstacles to protect forests and pastures in remote villages

By Bharat Dogra  Dheera Ram Kapaya grew up in such poverty that, unable to attend school himself, he would carry another boy’s heavy school bag for five kilometers just to get a scoop of daliya (porridge). When he was finally able to attend school, he had to leave after class five to join other adolescent workers. However, as soon as opportunities arose, he involved himself in community efforts—promoting forest protection, adult literacy, and other constructive initiatives. His hidden talent for writing emerged during this time, and he became known for the songs and street play scripts he created to promote forest conservation, discourage child marriages, and support other social reforms.

‘Act of war on agriculture’: Aruna Rodrigues slams GM crop expansion and regulatory apathy

By Rosamma Thomas*  Expressing appreciation to the Union Agriculture Minister for inviting suggestions from farmers and concerned citizens on the sharp decline in cotton crop productivity, Aruna Rodrigues—lead petitioner in the Supreme Court case ongoing since 2005 that seeks a moratorium on genetically modified (GM) crops—wrote to Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on July 14, 2025, stating that conflicts of interest have infiltrated India’s regulatory system like a spreading cancer, including within the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR).

The GMO illusion: Three decades of hype, harm, and false hope

By Sridhar Radhakrishnan  Three decades of hype, billions of dollars spent, and still no miracle crop. It's time to abandon the GMO biotech fairy tale and return to the soil, the seed, and the farmer. “Trust us,” they said. “GMOs will feed the world.” Picture a world where there is plenty of food, no hunger, fields grow without chemical pesticides, children are saved from malnutrition, and people live healthily.

Sandra Gonzalez Sanabria: An inspiring life from Colombia’s Amazonian valley

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  In the village of Héctor Ramírez, known as Agua Bonita, in La Montañita, Caquetá, Colombia, a vision of peace and renewal is unfolding. In the pre-2016 period, this would have been nearly impossible for outsiders to visit, as it was the epicenter of violent resistance against state oppression. However, after the Peace Accord was signed between the Colombian government and former revolutionaries—marking the end of a 70-year insurgency that claimed over 400,000 lives until 2025, including civilians, rebel fighters, and security personnel—things began to change. Visiting Agua Bonita during the Global Land Forum in Bogotá revealed a village of hope and resilience. Former FARC revolutionaries have settled here and transformed the village into a center of peace and aspiration.

Overriding India's constitutional sovereignty? Citizens urge PM to reject WHO IHR amendments

By A Representative   A group of concerned Indian citizens, including medical professionals and activists, has sent an urgent appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to reject proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) before the ratification deadline of July 19, 2025. 

Indigenous Karen activist calls for global solidarity amid continued struggles in Burma

By A Representative   At the International Festival for People’s Rights and Struggles (IFPRS), Naw Paw Pree, an Indigenous Karen activist from the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG), shared her experiences of oppression, resilience, and hope. Organized with the support of the International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL), the event brought together Indigenous and marginalized communities from across the globe, offering a rare safe space for shared learning, solidarity, and expression.

Activists allege abduction and torture by Delhi Police Special Cell in missing person probe

By A Representative   A press statement released today by the Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) alleges that several student and social activists have been abducted, illegally detained, and subjected to torture by the Delhi Police Special Cell. The CASR claims these actions are linked to an investigation into the disappearance of Vallika Varshri, an editorial team member of 'Nazariya' magazine.

India’s zero-emission, eco-friendly energy strategies have a long way to go, despite impressive progress

By N.S. Venkataraman*   The recent report released by OPEC’s World Oil Outlook 2025 has predicted that by the year 2050, crude oil would replace coal as India’s key energy source. Clearly, OPEC expects that India’s dependence on fossil fuels for energy will continue to remain high in one form or another.