Indian censors criticized over 'narrow mindset'

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Indian censors are facing criticism for not allowing a documentary film to use words like “cow” and “Hindu India”.

Documentary "The Argumentative Indian" features Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen, who talks of development economics, philosophy, social choice theory and the rise of right-wing nationalism in India.

The backlash

Chief Minister of West Bengal state Mamata Banerjee denounced the CBFC’s proposal to mute certain words from the documentary, Indian daily Hindustan Times reported.

“Every single voice of the opposition is being muzzled. Now, Dr. Amartya Sen,” Banerjee wrote on Twitter.

“If somebody of his stature cannot express himself freely, what hope does the common citizen have.”

Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee /VCG Photo‍

Filmmaker Rahul Dholkia slammed the decision of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

"Don't care whose Agenda it is but CBFC must change its narrow mindset," he tweeted.

Suman Ghosh, a national award-winning director, said censor board officials verbally asked him to delete the terms “cow” – an animal regarded sacred for Hindus – "Hindu India” and “Gujarat”.

“In a piece of cinema, I think it's bizarre to just beep something suddenly,” Ghosh told the NDTV news network, saying he was “quite shocked” by the censors' objection.

“But I will not make any change at all,” he said.

The documentary had been set for release this weekend.

The film covers a span of 15 years from 2002 and is structured as a conversation between Sen and one of his students, Kaushik Basu.

Adapted from Sen's book of the same title, it was screened in eastern Kolkata city earlier this week.

An Indian devotee offers food to a cow during the Ram Navami festival at the Shri Ram Hanuman Vatika temple in New Delhi on April 4, 2017. /VCG Photo

Hot-button issues

It discusses riots in western Gujarat state where at least 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in 2002 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister there.

Sen is a vocal critic of Modi, while Kaushik Basu was the chief economic adviser to opposition Congress Party's last government.

Slaughtering cows or beef consumption is a sensitive issue in India, where even rumors of cow slaughter and transportation could cause deadly reprisals and religious riots.

India's top court recently suspended a cattle slaughter ban.

Nothing new

The censors in India often stir controversy asking filmmakers to delete or beep out controversial words.

Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan (R) has been subject to censorship. /VCG Photo

Censor board chief Pahlaj Nihalani last month declined to pass the trailer of Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan's "Jab Harry Met Sejal" (When Harry met Sejal), objecting to the word "intercourse".

He said the CBFC would pass the trailer if 100,000 people voted in its favor, according to Indian media.

The censor board cleared the drug-themed Bollywood film "Udta Punjab" with 13 cuts under the 'A' category in June 2016.

The CBFC sparked uproar in February by refusing to approve an award-winning Hindi film on women's sexuality for being “lady-oriented”.

In 2015, it blocked the release of a toned-down version of “Fifty Shades of Grey” and deemed two James Bond kissing scenes inappropriate for an Indian audience.

The filmmakers accused censor officials of intolerance and restricting creative freedom.

(With inputs from AFP)