The Indian government has criticised a BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said India: The Modi Question lacked objectivity and was propaganda.
The first of the two-part series was aired in the UK on Tuesday. The second part will go out next Tuesday.
The BBC said it was “committed to highlighting important issues from around the world”.
It added that the Indian government was offered a right to reply, but they declined.
The documentary highlights a previously unpublished report, obtained by the BBC from the British Foreign Office, which raises questions about Mr Modi’s actions during the religious riots that had broken out after a train carrying Hindu pilgrims the day before was set on fire, killing dozens. More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, died in the outbreak of violence, one of the worst since Independence.
The report claims that Mr Modi was “directly responsible” for the “climate of impunity” that enabled the violence.
Mr Modi has long rejected accusations that he had any responsibility for the violence and not apologised for the riots. In 2013, a Supreme Court panel also said there was insufficient evidence to prosecute him
It was “rigorously researched” and “a wide range of voices, witnesses and experts were approached, and we have featured a range of opinions, including responses from people in the BJP”, it added.
The report was part of an inquiry ordered by the then foreign secretary Jack Straw. It says that “the extent of violence was much greater than reported” and “the aim of the riots was to purge Muslims from Hindu areas”.
“These were very serious claims that Mr Modi had played a proactive part in pulling back police and in tacitly encouraging the Hindu extremists. That was a particularly egregious example of political involvement to prevent police from doing their job to protect the Hindus and the Muslims,” Mr Straw is heard saying in the documentary.