New Delhi: Eight Members of Parliament have written to the information and broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw against the Central Board of Film Certification’s oral ban of the film The Voice of Hind Rajab.Distributor Manoj Nandwana, who heads Mumbai-based Jai Viratra Entertainment, had said that the film is being censored by the CBFC because it “is very sensitive” and that a CBFC member informally conveyed concerns that releasing the film could strain India-Israel ties.The film tells the story of a real five-year-old Palestinian girl who was trapped inside a car attacked by Israeli forces in Gaza and later found dead. Many, including the film’s director, have questioned the fragility of India-Israel ties.The MPs have urged the government to issue urgent directions to the Board to ensure that the film is examined in accordance with the constitutional principles governing freedom of expression.The letter is signed by Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s John Brittas, Congress’s Jairam Ramesh, Samajwadi Party’s Ram Gopal Yadav and Javed Ali Khan, Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Manoj K. Jha, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s Salma, Indian Union Muslim League-nominated Haris Beeran, and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s Sarfaraz Ahmed.The full letter is as follows:We, the undersigned Members of Parliament, write to express our deep concern regarding reports that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has orally declined certification to the internationally acclaimed film ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’, thereby effectively preventing its public exhibition in India. We earnestly seek your good self’s urgent personal intervention in this matter that bears significant implications for artistic freedom, institutional credibility and India’s standing as a society committed to democratic values and cultural openness.The Tunisian-produced film, directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, is an internationally recognised and Oscar-nominated work based on the real-life killing of a young Palestinian child during the 2024 Gaza conflict. The film has received wide critical attention globally, reflecting its engagement with a subject of contemporary humanitarian concern. However, reports indicate that the distributor in India has been orally informed that certification may not be granted. Such an approach raises serious concerns as to whether considerations extraneous to the statutory framework governing film certification have influenced the decision-making process. The screening of a film is an exercise of artistic expression protected within the constitutional framework and cannot be made contingent upon perceived diplomatic relationships.Cinema has historically served as an important medium through which societies engage with complex historical, political and humanitarian questions. It is a foundational principle of our constitutional democracy that artistic expression cannot be curtailed through informal or opaque mechanisms. The Cinematograph Act, 1952 envisages a transparent and reasoned certification process, where decisions affecting public exhibition of films are taken strictly on statutory grounds. 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.It is widely acknowledged that the above mentioned film addresses issues of contemporary global relevance. Disagreement with the perspective presented in a film cannot, by itself, constitute a valid ground for restricting public exhibition. India’s democratic strength lies in its confidence to permit diverse narratives to be examined and debated in the public sphere. Reliance on considerations beyond the statutory parameters for certification, including perceived geopolitical sensitivities, would create an undesirable precedent inconsistent with the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression.India’s civilisational ethos has long embraced plurality of thought and artistic interpretation. Engagement with complex or uncomfortable subjects has never diminished the strength of our democracy; rather, it has enriched public discourse and strengthened democratic resilience. The present issue therefore transcends an individual film and touches upon India’s constitutional commitment to freedom of expression as well as the credibility of its regulatory institutions in the global cultural sphere.In this background, we earnestly urge the Government to issue urgent directions to the CBFC to ensure that the film ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ is examined strictly in accordance with the constitutional principles governing freedom of expression, and that certification is granted at the earliest possible opportunity. India’s democratic strength lies in its abiding faith that ideas, narratives and artistic expressions must be tested in the open marketplace of ideas, rather than suppressed by prior restraint.