SAHMAT condemns 'mob' censorship in Gujarat

New Delhi, May 26 (UNI) The Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (SAHMAT) has condemned the ''unofficial'' ban on the film Fanaa in Gujarat.

The action should make all citizens stand up in alarm because a small group of people wedded to hate politics were depriving the entire population of the state access to the film, the anti-communalism group said in a statement.

The latest incident follows the attack on and subsequent closure of the Garden Art Museum in Surat in 2004, the burning of the Husain Doshi Gufa in Ahmedabad and the ''ban'' on M F Husain's film ''Gaja Gamini'' -- all through violence or threats of violence.

''It is the duty of the Government to protect the rights of artists and filmmakers to show their work to the public and it is for the public to decide on the merits of the work,'' SAHMAT said.

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