IC-814 series row: I&B ministry gets involved after right-wing outrage ...
The Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B) on Monday summoned Netflix representatives after the series IC-814: The Kandahar Hijack sparked outrage among right-wingers over “Hindu names” used as aliases by the hijackers, a factual depiction.
The Indian Express, quoting a source at the ministry, reported that it was conveyed to Netflix representatives that they must keep the religious sentiments and the sensitivities of the public in mind.
The six-part series is based on the infamous hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight IC 814 carrying 176 passengers in 1999 shows the five hijackers addressing each other using code names — Chief, Doctor, Burger, Bhola and Shankar. The Netflix show is inspired by the book ‘Flight Into Fear: The Captain’s Story‘ written by Devi Sharan, the captain of the flight, and journalist Srinjoy Chowdhury.
Many social media users have called for a boycott of the six-part series because it gives Hindu names to the hijackers. Senior BJP leaders have joined the trend with fringe Hindu nationalists.
“Every man and woman in India and indeed in South Asia knows that the hijack of IC-814 from Kathmandu was committed by Pakistan’s ISI-backed terrorists. Now, nobody thinks that there were some people from India who did the hijacking. So how the people have Hindu names in that movie, I don’t know. But I’m very happy that the I&B Ministry and the GoI have taken cognizance of this and have summoned Netflix,” Former Union Minister and BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar posted on X.
A Home Ministry statement from January 6, 2000, available on the website of the Ministry of External Affairs, shows that these indeed were the code names used by the hijackers from the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen terror group, The Indian Express reported.
The airbus, bound from Kathmandu to New Delhi, was hijacked by five militants and flown to multiple cities before landing in Kandahar in Taliban-governed Afghanistan. It eventually led to the release of three terror-charged prisoners in exchange for the hostages.
