JNU administration advises students' union to cancel 'unauthorised' screening of 'Ram Ke Naam'
New Delhi, Dec 4: The Jawaharlal Nehru University administration on Saturday "firmly" advised the students' union to cancel the screening of 'Ram Ke Naam' documentary, saying "such an unauthorised activity may disturb communal harmony and peaceful environment" of the campus.
The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU), however, said that it will go ahead with the screening at 9 pm on Saturday.
The maker of the documentary film, Anand Patwardhan, also sent a solidarity message to the students and said they have full right to show the film since it has 'U' certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
In a circular, the JNU registrar said, "It has come to the notice of the undersigned that a group of students have in the name of JNUSU released a pamphlet for screening a documentary/movie 'Ram Ke Naam' scheduled for tonight at 9:30 pm in Teflas (student union hall)."
The university administration said no prior permission for the event was taken from it.
"This is to emphasise that such an unauthorised activity may disturb communal harmony and peaceful environment of the university campus.
The concerned students/individuals are firmly advised to cancel the proposed programme immediately failing which a strict disciplinary action as per the university rules may be initiated against those responsible for this event. The students are also instructed not to get provoked by this pamphlet, which is unauthorised and unwarranted," the circular read.
'Ram ke Naam', a 1992 documentary by Patwardhan, explores the campaign to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya.
JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh, in a Facebook post, said they have scheduled a screening of 'Ram Ke Naam' at the union hall.
"So the puppet body of this RSS-BJP has come out with a circular that this documentary screening is unauthorised and might disturb the communal harmony. 'Ram ke Naam' shows the truth, what is BJP doing in this country and how communal hatred is spread in this secular country by the right wing fundamentalists," she alleged.
"The JNUSU will not back out at any cost. This screening will happen and we request JNU student community to participate in huge numbers at 9 pm for watching this documentary," she said.
JNUSU vice president Saket Moon said the university administration cannot decide what the students will watch.
"December 6 will be the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition. We decided to hold the screening of the documentary. The university administration cannot decide what students will watch. The documentary is in the public domain, freely available on Youtube and has also won awards," he said.
Ghosh shared a video message from Patwardhan.
"I would like to congratulate JNU that their students have decided to go ahead with the screening of 'Ram Ke Naam' despite the administration asking them not to. You have full right to showcase the film. The film has 'U' certificate from CBFC. It won the National Award in 1992 for Best Investigative documentary," Patwardhan said in his message in Hindi.
"It was telecast on Doordarshan at prime time 9 pm after the High Court ordered it. One more channel showed it after the Allahabad High Court judgement. Everyone in the country has watched this film. Maybe the new generation might not have seen it. This film cannot be stopped. It can be stopped if the country is overtaken by fascism. Till now fascism has not come in the country fully and the film screening cannot be stopped," he added.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
