Anti-Pakistan hate show: Arnab Goswami’s channel fined Rs4.3m in UK
LONDON: Britain’s media regulator Ofcom has imposed a £20,000 (Rs4.3 million) financial penalty on Republic Bharat TV (Worldview Media Network Limited) within the UK for serious broadcasting breaches after the channel aired hate speech against the people of Pakistan during a show conducted by controversial anchor Arnab Goswami.
The Ofcom announced on Tuesday that it's fined Republic TV for using “highly offensive hate speech against Pakistani people” over an episode of Poochta Hai Bharat, hosted by Goswani, during which seriously offensive terms like “beggars”, “thieves”, “backward”, “Paki”, “donkeys” were used for Pakistanis.
The Republic Bharat channel broadcasts rolling news and current affairs to the Hindi speaking community within the UK like dozens of Indian and Pakistani news and entertainment channels.
The Ofcom told this correspondent during a statement: “We concluded that this was a significant 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 to not repeat the programme; and a direction to broadcast a press release of our findings on a date —and during 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) concerning India’s plan to send the spacecraft Chandrayaan 2 on its mission to the moon, India’s record of space exploration and other technological advancements as compared to Pakistan’s, the Kashmir issue, and Pakistan’s “alleged involvement in terrorist activities against Indian targets”.
In the programme, the presenter and a few of his guests conveyed the view that each one Pakistani people are terrorists, including that: “their scientists, doctors, their leaders, politicians all are terrorists. Even their sports people”; “every child may be a terrorist over there. Every child may be a terrorist. you're handling a terrorist entity”.
One guest also described Pakistani scientists as “thieves”, while another described Pakistani people as “beggars”. The presenter, addressing Pakistan and/or Pakistani people, said: “We make scientists, you create terrorists”.
The Ofcom said: “We considered these statements to be expressions of hatred supported intolerance of Pakistani people supported their nationality alone, which the printed of those statements spread, incited, promoted and justified such intolerance towards Pakistani people among viewers.
A third guest, General Sinha said, “Oh you useless people. Beggars. Oh beggars, oh beggars. we'll douse you with 1.25kg, .75kg-, with two inches. PoK8 , PoK, we are coming to the PoK. We are coming to the Gilgit, Baltistan, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa…We are getting to come, be ready. People in your country are shivering with fear that the Indian army may come. we'll barge inside your range in Baluchistan, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in Karachi, in your area, in Multan, in Rawalpindi and kill you. From Lahore, from Karachi to Gilgit-Balistan once we will have control”.
The Ofcom said in its findings: “We considered however that these statements, made by a retired Major General from the Indian Army, which clearly threatened that the Indian military would attack Pakistani civilians in their homes, were an expression of hatred and desire to kill by a figure of authority. In our view the printed of those statements also promoted hatred and intolerance towards Pakistani people.”
The Ofcom said that the general tone of the discussion was provocative, comparing Pakistanis to donkeys and monkeys. “We also noted that Pakistani contributors were repeatedly interrupted and afforded little time to form points which can potentially have provided challenge or context.”
The Ofcom said that the statements made within the programme “were expressions of hatred supported intolerance of Pakistani people on the idea of their nationality alone, and promoted hatred and intolerance towards Pakistani people”.
The Licensee argued that the utilization of the term “Paki” wasn't intended to be offensive, nor would be interpreted intrinsically particularly when utilized in the sub-continent.
In Ofcom’s view, these negative descriptions constituted “uncontextualised abuse and derogatory treatment of Pakistani people on the bottom of their nationality in breach of Rule 3.3. 38”.
The Republic TV told Ofcom that it shouldn’t be slapped with a fine and promised that no live discussion on India-Pakistan are going to be aired unless reviewed and edited first to suits the united kingdom laws but the Ofcom found that Republic TV acted in recklessness and broke rules repeatedly.
The Ofcom found that the fabric aired on Republic TV “posed a risk of harm to the Pakistani community within the UK, and to good relations particularly between members of the UK’s Indian and Pakistani communities”.
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