Times Now reports that The Ministry of Defence (MoD) in a letter written to Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has suggested that a No Objection Certificate (NOC) be required by production houses before the telecast of any film or documentary on Indian Army.
The suggestion by the MoD aims to ensure that the image of the Indian Army is not distorted and has asked that the suggestion be extended to Over The Top (OTT) platforms as well.
Ministry of Defence wants makers of films and web-series to obtain 'NOC' from it before depicting the Army in their content. This is to prevent the distortion of the image of the Armed Forces and hurting their sentiments. pic.twitter.com/twrsMOkgCZ
— SSSMovieReviews (@sssmoviereviews) July 31, 2020
“It has been brought to the notice of this Ministry that some production houses, making films on Army theme, are using contents which are distorting the image of the Indian Army. Therefore, the producers of movies/web series etc based on Army theme may be advised to obtain the NOC from Ministry of Defence before the telecast of any movie documentary on Army theme in the public domain,” reads the letter by MoD.
The communication comes in the wake of the uproar and criticism received by certain series released on the OTT platform. However, considering the grey area with respect to online content, the letter written by the Under Secretary Sudarshan Kumar has also been sent to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for consideration.
In its letter, the MoD has also suggested that production houses be advised to avoid and prevent any incident which either distorts the image of Defence forces or hurts their sentiments.
Why silent on Anti-Army Webseries?
'Court Martial' – Punjabi Hindu officer is Casteist, Anti Dalit & Woman Abuser.
'Code M’ – Senior officer is Caste obsessed Rajput.
Jr. officers homosexuals.
…Why No action by @adgpi@DefenceMinIndia@MajorNeel @MajorPoonia#CensorWebSeries pic.twitter.com/qxeDOFG2b7— ? Ramesh Shinde ?? (@Ramesh_hjs) May 27, 2020
Hindu Janajagruti Samiti has been vocal against not just distortion of Indian Army, but also against insult of Hindu Dharma, Hindu Deities and spread of nudity and violence through Web Series and other shows streamed on OTT platforms. In last few months, netizens had echoed the same concerns through the top national Twitter trends such as #Censor_Web_Series and #ALTBalaji_Insults_Army. Many ex-Army personals and organisations had also protested against wrong depiction of Army in the Web Series.
The wives and husbands of those in the Armed forces are equally proud of the sacrifice they make. While sexual gratification is one of the basic needs of man, it does not govern the lives of these exemplary men and women as ALT Balaji seeks to portray.#ALTBalaji_Insults_Army pic.twitter.com/g4ZndFL8FV
— HinduJagrutiOrg (@HinduJagrutiOrg) June 2, 2020
मा. @MIB_India मंत्री @PrakashJavdekar जी, पिछले अनेक दिनों से ‘हिन्दू धर्म, देवता, भारत तथा भारतीय सेना का निरंतर अपमान करनेवाले OTT Platforms को @CBFC_India जैसे केंद्रीय प्राधिकरण के क्षेत्राधिकार में लाने’ की मांग हो रही है । कृपया तुरंत कार्यवाही करे ।#Censor_Web_Series pic.twitter.com/uCMm3mOesi
— HinduJagrutiOrg (@HinduJagrutiOrg) July 19, 2020
The Government of India had given 100 days to all major OTT platform in March this year, asking them to abide by the regulations of Digital Content Complaint Council.
