March 10, 2026 04:39 pm (IST)
India's Daughter should be made compulsory viewing: Shobhaa De
New Delhi, Mar 5 (IBNS) Writer, columnist and social commentator Shobhaa De says the banned documentary India's Daughter, which interviews one of the rapists of Nirbhaya, should be made compulsory viewing.
In an article in NDTV, which was to beam the now banned documentary by British filmmaker Leslee Udwin, wrote: "India's Daughter' must be made compulsory viewing in our schools, colleges and government offices."
"Because if there is one thing any society that calls itself civilized must not shun, it is the truth," she wrote.
Attacking the Union Home Minister for supporting the ban, she wrote: "Rajnath Singh - hold up a mirror. See what's going on around you. Deal with it. The real 'embarrassment' India needs to confront is its own horrific reality... and the shame that goes with it. Not a bold documentary."
While a Delhi court ordered a ban on the film, the government said it would not allow the film's screening and investigate how permission was granted for the rapist's interview.
As 'India's Daughter', the documentary based on the 2012 fatal Delhi gang-rape, faces a ban in the country, Nirbhaya's father said on Thursday that everyone should watch the film.
"Everyone should watch the film. If a man can speak like that in jail, imagine what he would say if he was walking free," the father said.
"The documentary exposes what is happening. I don't understand why it was banned. A ban will only make people curious. But if the country has taken a decision, we have to support it," he told NDTV.
The documentary by British filmmaker Leslee Udwin includes interviews of Nirbhaya's parents, doctors, police, lawyers and one of the rapists. It was aired by the BBC on Wednesday night.
The documentary kicked up controversy as it includes certain comments of Mukesh Singh, one of the four men sentenced to death for rape and murder holding the woman responsible for the fate she met.
In India it was to be telecast on NDTV.
"Talking in Parliament does not help. Why are the convicts still alive? Why have they not been hanged yet? Who are they to tell a woman what to wear or what to do? How will the campaign 'Beti Padao, Beti Bachao' (educate, save our daughters) work if our daughters are not alive?" Nirbhaya's father said.
Nirbhaya's mother said, "It is not about the ban. Why are these convicts still alive? It seems we will die fighting for justice but they will outlive us."
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