Students Blocked From Screening Ayodhya Docu, DYFI Vows Public Viewing in Kerala
Controversy Erupts Over "Ram Ke Naam" Amid BJP Pressure
The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), a youth organization affiliated with the governing CPI (M), said on Tuesday evening that it will present the documentary "Ram Ke Naam" in front of a state-run film institution in this district, after the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
The 1992 documentary, directed by the acclaimed Anand Patwardhan, delves into the sectarian violence that resulted from the Vishva Hindu Parishad's attempt to construct a Ram temple at the then-disturbed site in Ayodhya.
Despite their best efforts, the students of the K R Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts in this place were compelled to move the documentary's screening location inside the campus on Monday due to demonstrations organized by some right-wing activists and local BJP officials.
The institute's students' union attempted to get the video shown by Monday at 9:30 p.m.
More than forty students attended the screening, many of them were female. However, the kids said that BJP officials raced to the scene and warned them to halt it.
The students consented to the police's request to play the documentary within the campus after they raced to the scene due to the heated situation.
The DYFI leadership said on Tuesday that they will show the documentary "Ram Ke Naam" in front of the campus gate this evening due to the BJP and right-wing activists' prohibition on students doing the same.
"Today at 7 p.m., we'll show the documentary in front of the institution, next to the entrance. Jaick C. Thomas, a member of the DYFI central committee, told PTI that the screening will take place in the same location where the students attempted to show the film on Monday.
He said that several residents of a local BJP-run panchayat arrived and raised objections to the screening.
The head of DYFI had already announced on Facebook that "Ram Ke Naam" will be broadcast everywhere (in the state).
He said that it would also be shown in front of the K R Narayanan Institute and urged the Sangh activists to oppose it.
