JNU administration advises students' union to cancel 'unauthorised' screening of 'Ram Ke Naam'

NEW DELHI: Jawaharlal Nehru University on Friday issued a circular cancelling the screening of the documentary, Ram Ke Naam, by Anand Patwardhan at Teflas.

Ram Ke Naam (In the Name of God) is a 1992 documentary that explores the campaign waged by the Hindu right-wing organisations to build Ram temple at the site of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya as well as the communal violence it had triggered.

Patwardhan is a documentary filmmaker known for his socio-political and human rights-oriented films. His Twitter bio says that he has been facing state censorship as well as the wrath of religious fundamentalists.

A JNU circular signed by the registrar stated that no prior permission was taken by a group of students in the name of the JNU students union which released the pamphlet for screening of the documentary movie.
One of the research scholars at the Centre for Historical Studies, JNU, tweeted, “It is an old movie that we have been screening for years. Save the democratic culture of JNU.”

The JNU official circular read, “It has come to the notice of the undersigned that a group of students in the name of JNUSU released a pamphlet for screening a documentary/ movie Ram Ke Naam scheduled at 9:30 pm in Teflas.” 

The letter added, “This is to emphasise that such an unauthorised activity may disturb the communal harmony of the university campus.”