The documentary can be streamed on Patwardhan’s YouTube channel anandverite but it now comes with a disclaimer saying it may be “inappropriate for some users”.
Renowned filmmaker Anand Patwardhan’s seminal work “Ram Ke Naam,” based on the Babri Masjid demolition, has been age-restricted on YouTube.
The National Award-winning documentary from 1992 received a ‘U’ certificate from the Central Bureau of Film Certification and was shown at prime time on Doordarshan after the High Court ordered its telecast in 1996. Patwardhan said he is shocked how the film has now been termed for “adults” only, 26 years after its release.
The director said the video-sharing website is “catering to Hindutva goons who want to kill all secular content.” The 1992 documentary explores the campaign waged by the Hindu-nationalist Vishva Hindu Parishad to build a Ram temple at the site of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, as well as the communal violence that it triggered, a report said.
The documentary can be streamed on Patwardhan’s YouTube channel anandverite but it now comes with a disclaimer saying it may be “inappropriate for some users”.
Accusing the video sharing platform of quasi-censorship, Patwardhan said in a Facebook post, “YouTube is at it again, catering to Hindutva goons who want to kill all secular content. Latest is they have put an “age restriction” on my film Ram Ke Naam which has a ‘U’ certificate from CBFC, won a National Award and was shown at prime time (9 pm) on Doordarshan after the High Court ordered its telecast in 1996. The film is 28 years old!”
Ram Ke Naam won the National Film Award for Best Investigative Documentary and the Filmfare Award for Best Documentary. The film observed the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s campaign to build a Ram temple at the site of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, which Hindutva groups claim is the birthplace of Ram. It followed the Bharatiya Janata Party leader LK Advani’s rath yatra in those days which culminated in the demolition of the mosque by Hindutva mobs on December 6, 1992, sparking riots across India that left more than 2,000 people dead.
Patwardhan urged people to write protest letters to Google and YouTube. “Please write protest letters to Youtube and Google. They did the same thing to Jai Bhim Comrade as well, another film with a “U” certificate and a National award. Is YouTube even worse than our CBFC?” he wrote.
“After further review, we’ve determined that while your video does not violate our Community Guidelines, it may not be appropriate for a general audience. We have therefore age-restricted your video,” YouTube wrote in response to Patwardhan.
“Now, if you are a child over 14 and under 18 you are allowed to do hazardous labour but you are not allowed to see Ram Ke Naam,” Patwardhan responded on his Facebook profile.