Government Takes Action: I&B Secretary to Meet Netflix Team Over Controversy Surrounding ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ Series

Government Takes Action: I&B Secretary to Meet Netflix Team Over Controversy Surrounding ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ Series

A two-member team from Netflix is expected to meet the Secretary of the I&B Ministry on Tuesday following recent controversy over the series IC-814: The Kandahar Hijack.

The Indian government is taking strong esteem to this, amidst concern that the series shows 1999 hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight.

The series has been contended for misrepresenting the hijackers for some names. As critics say, that actually misrepresents the terrorist hijackers’ identity and thus distorts certain historical facts.

This might offend religious feelings and has brought charges against the series under several provisions under Sections 469, 505 of the Indian Penal Code. Based on this letter, the I&B Ministry has summoned Netflix’s content head, Monika Shergill, over these issues.

Critics’ Concerns This has led to a furore among critics, who say the series might distort historical facts and hurt religious sentiments. The Centre has already blamed the platform for misrepresenting some sensitive issues.

“Nobody has the right to play with the sentiments of the people of this nation. India’s culture and civilization need to be respected always,” government sources assert.

You should think before portraying something in the wrong manner. The government is taking it very seriously.”

This series, by Anubhav Sinha, released on Netflix on August 29, is based on the hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight IC 814 that flew from Kathmandu to Kandahar via the Pakistan-based terror group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.

Objections were raised on factual authenticity and over representation of events and characters in the series. Sources say that the show distorts facts and replaces them with fiction in order to normalize a crime perpetrated by Pakistan’s spy agency ISI.

Political Reactions

Bharatiya Janata Party’s IT cell head Amit Malviya attacked the series, claiming it legitimizes the criminal action of hijackers as something justified or acceptable since it gave non-Muslim names to the hijackers.

He warned of a false narrative that people will end up actually believing Hindus hijacked the plane. Malviya accused the Left of trying to whitewash the crimes of Pakistani terrorists.

Not to be left behind, actor and MP Kangana Ranaut also let loose her ammunition on the series for distorting real-life incidents for political ends.

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She said that she finds it pretty frustrating that when some political groups are free to make anti-national content, nationalist voices are often suppressed on OTT platforms. The meeting between Netflix and the I&B Ministry will, in all probabilities, centre around these issues and deliberate upon further action over the series.