Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist volunteer paramilitary organisation. It is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar, which has developed a presence in all facets of Indian society and includes the Bharatiya Janata Party, the ruling political party under Narendra Modi, the 14th prime minister of India. Mohan Bhagwat has served as the Sarsanghchalak of the RSS since March 2009.
The Emergency in India was a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a state of emergency declared across the country by citing internal and external threats to the country.
Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) (transl. All India Students' Council) is a right-wing and a independent all India student organisation affiliated to the Hindu nationalist organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Film censorship is the censorship of motion pictures, either through the excising of certain frames or scenes, or outright banning of films in their entirety. Film censorship typically occurs as a result of political or moral objections to a film's content; controversial content subject to censorship include the depiction of graphic violence, sexual situations, or racial themes. Censorship standards vary widely by country, and can vary within an individual country over time.
Censorship in India has taken various forms throughout its history. Although de jure the Constitution of India guarantees freedom of expression, de facto there are various restrictions on content, with an official view towards "maintaining communal and religious harmony", given the history of communal tension in the nation. According to the Information Technology Rules 2011, objectionable content includes anything that "threatens the unity, integrity, defence, security or sovereignty of India, friendly relations with foreign states or public order".
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) or Censor Board of Film Certification is a statutory film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India. It is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act 1952." The Cinematograph Act 1952 outlines a strict certification process for commercial films shown in public venues. Films screened in cinemas and on television may only be publicly exhibited in India after certification by the board and edited.
The 2002 Gujarat riots, also known as the 2002 Gujarat violence or the Gujarat pogrom, was a three-day period of inter-communal violence in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The burning of a train in Godhra on 27 February 2002, which caused the deaths of 58 Hindu pilgrims and karsevaks returning from Ayodhya, is cited as having instigated the violence. Following the initial riot incidents, there were further outbreaks of violence in Ahmedabad for three months; statewide, there were further outbreaks of violence against the minority Muslim population of Gujarat for the next year.
Rakesh Sharma is an Indian documentary filmmaker. His most notable work is the feature-length documentary Final Solution on the 2002 Gujarat riots. Rakesh Sharma spent his formative years in Agra, before moving to Delhi to finish his school and college education. He started his career as television journalist in 1986. He graduated from SRCC, University of Delhi in 1984 with a BA Honors (Economics) degree. He studied MA in Mass Communication from Jamia Millia Islamia MCRC in 1986.
The Central Board of Film Censors is a film censorship board and rating system body under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting for the Government of Pakistan. Since the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan its jurisdiction has been limited to Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Cantonments, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan; with separate censor boards for Punjab and Sindh headquartered in Lahore and Karachi respectively. Though the CBFC maintains an unofficial dominant position over the latter boards.
Leela Samson is a Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, instructor, writer and actress from India. As a soloist, she is known for her technical virtuosity and has taught Bharatanatyam at Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra in Delhi for many years.
Papilio Buddha is an Indian film written and directed by Jayan K. Cherian. The film focuses on the atrocities committed against Dalits, women, and the environment. It features S. P. Sreekumar, David Briggs, and Saritha Sunil while Padmapriya, Prakash Bare, and Thampy Antony play supporting roles. Kerala-based environmentalist Kallen Pokkudan appears in another important role in the film, which also casts 150 Adivasis. The film was completely shot in Wayanad, Kerala and the cinematography was done by M J Radhakrishnan. The story deals with discrimination against landless Dalits and the politics of suppression of their struggle against the upper castes and other powerful elements locally.
Inshallah, Football is a documentary film by Ashvin Kumar about an aspiring footballer who was denied the right to travel abroad on the pretext that his father was a militant in the 1990s. The film was completed in 2010, and has faced difficulties getting released in India. The film's first screening in India at the India Habitat Center received this review from Tehelka magazine, 'Kumar's camera catches the irony of Kashmir's physical beauty, the claustrophobia of militarisation, the dread and hopelessness of children born into war and the nuances of relationships. It also filters the inherent joie-de-vivre of youth, even if that flows uneasily with Kashmir's collective memory of unmitigated grief...There is no better way to understand Kashmir right now.'. The film was shot by Kumar himself using five different camera formats "There is a rough, almost unpolished, feel to Inshallah, Football. The narrative runs unfettered, with an energy of its own." says Tehelka, "We shot with five different cameras, from DSLRs to the best equipment. The idea was to watch life unfold and get under the skin of the audience." adds Kumar.
An Insignificant Man is a 2016 Hindi/English Indian socio-political documentary co-produced and directed by Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla and also co-produced by filmmaker Anand Gandhi. and is about the rise of anti-corruption protests in India and the formation and rise to power of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The film received a standing ovation at its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and has gone on to have sold out screenings at major festival across the world including the BFI London Film Festival & Busan International Film Festival.
Pahlaj Nihalani is an Indian film producer. He was the former chairman of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. He was also the president of the Association of Pictures and TV Programme Producers for 29 years until he resigned in 2009. He was sacked as CBFC chief on 11 August 2017 and soon Prasoon Joshi appointed as CBFC Chief by Smriti Irani.
The Mastermind Jinda Sukha is 2015 Indian Punjabi-language film initially released 11 September 2015. Film is based on letters exchanged by Harjinder Singh Jinda and Sukhdev Singh Sukha during their imprisonment in Pune.
The Brotherhood is a 2017 Indian documentary film, based on much talked Dadri mob lynching incident in Greater Noida Uttar Pradesh. Senior journalist Pankaj Parashar is the director and producer of the documentary. The Brotherhood is an attempt to promote cultural harmony in the region. The documentary received an overwhelming response from the audience.
Chand Bujh Gaya is a 2005 Indian Hindi-language drama thriller film directed by Sharique Minhaj in his directorial debut and featuring Faisal Khan and Shama Sikander in leading roles. The film is set against the backdrop of the 2002 Godhra train burning. Both the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and its appellate authority, the Film Certificate Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) refused to grant a certificate to the film. The film was released only after the Bombay High Court quashed the decisions of CBFC and FCAT.
Varthamanam is an Indian Malayalam-language social drama film directed by Sidhartha Siva, stars Parvathy Thiruvothu, Roshan Mathew and Siddique. The film is produced by Benzy Nazar and Aryadan Shoukath under Benzy productions, written by Aryadan Shoukath.
The 2017 Indian vigilante action film Mersal was the subject of several controversies. The first of these was the issue of the title, where a lawsuit was filed against the producers for using the title for promotions. The release also faced complications following the Tamil Film Producers Council's strike following the double taxation issue; this was a protest against the 10% entertainment tax additionally over the 28% GST, with the last minute denial of censorship, after Animal Welfare Board of India denied NOC over the usage of few animals without their permission. Upon release, the film was criticised by several organisations including the Bharatiya Janata Party and the then ruling AIADMK government objected to scenes featuring Vijay criticising the recently introduced Goods and Services Tax, and another scene in which a character ridicules the Digital India initiative. The party demanded that those scenes must be removed from future viewership. The Indian Medical Association and several other medical associations called for a boycott on the film, following their criticism over the alleged cynical portrayal of doctors working in government-operated hospitals. Several opposition parties and the film fraternity of India condemned the actions instructed by political organisations as a critical attack on freedom of speech in India.
