Opposition lawmakers have asked the Indian government to ensure that the Central Board of Film Certification reviews The Voice of Hind Rajab in line with constitutional protections on free speech and grants it certification, according to a letter dated March 24.
The appeal follows media reports that the film’s release in India had been stalled. On March 19, Variety cited the movie’s local distributor as saying the board had blocked its theatrical release over concerns it could “break up” diplomatic ties between India and Israel.
Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, the Oscar-nominated film recounts the story of Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl who was trapped in a car during an Israeli attack in Gaza in 2024 and was later found dead.
The incident occurred amid Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, launched in October 2023, which has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths.
In their letter to Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the lawmakers said reports that certification had been “orally declined” raised “serious concerns” about whether considerations outside the legal framework had influenced the process.
They added that decisions on film certification should not hinge on “perceived diplomatic relationships”.
“It is a foundational principle of our constitutional democracy that artistic expression cannot be curtailed through informal or opaque mechanisms,” the MPs wrote.
They warned that any “departure from this due process, including oral instructions or informal advisories that effectively result in denial of certification, undermines institutional credibility and erodes public confidence in regulatory bodies entrusted with protecting creative freedom”.
“India’s democratic strength lies in its confidence to permit diverse narratives to be examined and debated in the public sphere,” they added.
The letter was signed by several opposition leaders, including Jairam Ramesh, John Brittas, Ram Gopal Yadav, Javed Ali Khan, Manoj Kumar Jha, Salma, Sarfaraz Ahmad and Haris Beeran.