Indian TV channel fined £20K for anti-Pakistan hate speech

LONDON: Britain’s media regulator Ofcom has imposed a £20,000 financial penalty on Republic Bharat TV (Worldview Media Network Limited) in the UK for broadcasting breaches after the channel aired hate speech against the people of Pakistan in a show conducted by controversial anchor Arnab Goswami.

The Ofcom announced on Tuesday that it has fined Republic TV for using “hate speech against Pakistani people” over an episode of Poochta Hai Bharat, hosted by Goswani, in which offensive terms were used for Pakistanis.

The Republic Bharat channel broadcasts rolling news and current affairs to the Hindi speaking community in the UK like dozens of Indian and Pakistani news and entertainment channels.

The Ofcom told this correspondent in a statement: “We concluded that this was a serious breach of our rules which warranted the imposition of statutory sanctions. These include: a financial penalty of £20,000, payable to HM Paymaster General; a direction not to repeat the programme; and a direction to broadcast a statement of our findings on a date – and in a form - to be determined by Ofcom.”

This broadcast of Poochta Hai Bharat on July 22, 2019 featured a debate between Arnab Goswami, and his guests (three Indian and three Pakistani) relating to India’s attempt to send the spacecraft Chandrayaan 2 on its mission to the moon, India’s record of space exploration and other technological advancements in comparison to Pakistan’s, the Kashmir issue, and Pakistan’s “alleged involvement in terrorist activities against Indian targets”. In the programme, the presenter and some of his guests conveyed the view that Pakistani people are terrorists. The Ofcom said that the overall tone of the discussion was provocative. “We also noted that Pakistani contributors were repeatedly interrupted and afforded little time to make points which may potentially have provided challenge or context.”

The Ofcom said that the statements made in the programme “were expressions of hatred based on intolerance of Pakistani people on the basis of their nationality alone, and promoted hatred and intolerance towards Pakistani people”.

The Licensee argued that the use of the term “Paki” was not intended to be offensive, nor would be interpreted as such particularly when used in the sub-continent. In Ofcom’s view, these negative descriptions constituted “uncontextualised abuse and derogatory treatment of Pakistani people on the ground of their nationality in breach of Rule 3.3. 38”.

The Republic TV told Ofcom that it should not be slapped with a fine and promised that no live discussion on India-Pakistan will be aired unless reviewed and edited first to comply with the UK laws but the Ofcom found that Republic TV acted in recklessness and broke rules repeatedly.

The Ofcom found that the material aired on Republic TV “posed a risk of harm to the Pakistani community in the UK, and to good relations particularly between members of the UK’s Indian and Pakistani communities”.