The Indian diaspora in the United Kingdom recently staged a protest against state-sponsored British Broadcaster BBC over the propaganda documentary on Gujarat Riots 2002, where they blamed then-Chief Minister Narendra Modi for inaction and killing of Muslims in the riots. Several misleading aspects of the documentary were discussed in our reports here. The Government of India banned the documentary over the misleading nature of the content.
In a reaction to the disinformation BBC attempted to spread through its 2-episode documentary, the NRIs came out on roads in large numbers and staged protests in multiple cities including outside the media house’s headquarters. This was arguably the first time NRIs, especially the Hindus, came out in such large numbers.
OpIndia had a detailed discussion with Pt Satish K Sharma about the reaction NRIs had to BBC’s documentary and tries to assert what led to such a reaction.
The two faces of the BBC
It needs to be understood that BBC has two faces when it comes to discussing Hindus. One of the faces is to show the Hindu community’s activities whenever they are harmless to the status quo. If you go through the reports on BBC related to Hindu festivals, they will show colourful Diwali celebrations, Holi celebrations and so on. It adds the much-needed “colour” to the multicultural British story. Notably, in this case, it is adding to the British story instead of the Hindu story. Such articles give a positive note to the multicultural nature of the United Kingdom. There are a lot of articles where the BBC happily celebrates the harmless and colourful contribution Hindus made to the UK.
Coming to the other face, where they have difficulty, traditionally, in showing anything good about Bharat and Hindus particularly. This is a strategic move. It is almost like being in conversation with a schizophrenic person. Whenever anything has a Hindu dimension, BCC strategically and consistently portrays the Indian story as being negative and detrimental in the worst possible light.
A similar dichotomy is apparent when we talk about the Hindu philosophy, the Darshan and everything else. For example, let’s look at the BBC’s website. They will show the same old story and portray the same old image that Sanatan Dharma has a hereditary hierarchical endogamous caste structure and that it is religious. It is part of the Hindu tradition.
Interestingly, it has been proven with evidence that it is entirely incorrect. Many of the NRI Hindus have provided the correct information to BBC and tried to work with the British broadcaster but could not get them to change a single webpage in their favour. This is how reluctant BBC has been to listen to the Hindu voice. In short, it has been a continuous portrayal of almost a gaslighting and manipulative relationship. If we look at the history of BBC with Hindus, there have been times when there was affection, but most of the time, there is abuse and manipulation.
It is essential to understand that there is a background to such behaviour, especially since 2014, as another dimension has crept into it, and it has to do with the Muslim community. Regarding reporting on the Muslim community, it is notable that they appeared to have a discriminatory policy. It is softened, ameliorated, and diminished whenever there is anything negative to do with the Muslim community.
On the other hand, when something can be portrayed about the Hindu community, it is amplified, proliferated and emphasised. For example, if a Hindu priest is engaged in it, the reputation of all Hindus and Indians is tarnished. They will use the word such as Indian. They will use words such as Hindu and so on. On the contrary, when it is about Muslim abusers, say a Maulvi abused a young white English girl, it is reported as being an Asian.
Identity politics and labels protect the Muslim community and diminish anything negative about them. On the other hand, identity labels are used to highlight, specify and pick on in detail anything to do with the Hindu community.
The anger built up over time
The reaction did not come all of a sudden. The anger and dismay against BBC built up over time. There have been campaigns against the BBC that were on the public’s notice and were covered in the news as well. However, none had feet on the ground or in the streets. In the past, there have been a lot of letter-writing campaigns and complaints filed against BBC. For example, when BBC published a map of Bharat without Kashmir, the media house faced criticism from the NRI Hindus.
Another example that can be recalled was when farmer protests were being enacted on the streets of New Delhi; BBC was very actively involved in making it a Hindu-Sikh affair. They emphasised the religious dimension of it. NRI Hindus objected to the narrative, but these objections normally take the form of people complaining through their complaints procedure. The way different aspects of discrimination creep into BBC’s way of working, it affected NRI Hindus steadily over the years since 2014.
It must be pointed out that most Hindus living in the UK consider it their Karambhoomi and see Bharat as their Janambhoomi. They try and fulfil their obligations to both. But when it comes to the point where your identity is being attacked, and your Janambhoomi is being attacked, that means that the rights you thought you had in your Karambhoomi are not real.
How BBC’s Leicester reporting sparked anger in NRI Hindus
NRI Hindus noticed that BBC’s reporting of Prime Minister Modi, especially the Gujarat Riots documentary, was full of lies. Similarly, the Leicester violence reported by BBC was equally false. They tried to project the word “Hindutva” as if it was something negative. In reality, there was nothing linked to RSS, BJP of so-called Right Wing extremists or fascist orientation to the violence at all. However, they chose to present it that way.
The Hindus living in the UK were still processing it, and the way BBC reported it was still fresh in their minds. The BBC documentary stirred the calm-looking surface of the anger that was building up underneath.
Speaking about the investigation into the Leicester violence, Pt Satish said it is taking longer to investigate the matter. Notably, around 120 arrests have been made so far, and a few weeks back, the police also sought help from the public in identifying some of the accused of the violence. Interestingly, the Muslim community complained about it and categorised it as an attempt to make it a “Muslim Affair” and trying to target the Muslim community.
The violence has caused a great deal of discomfort. It has made them aware of some realities many were ready to believe. The Hindu community had actually felt that if there was violence directed against them and it was criminal, the police would be happy to step in and defend and protect the rights of the Hebrew community.
The first reason was NRIs thought as they think of themselves as British citizens, so they are entitled to those rights. Secondly, because they are good law-abiding British citizens, if anybody is entitled to protections, they are entitled to them more than perhaps other communities who are not so law-abiding. This was the unspoken understanding. But Leicester showed everybody that this was not reality.
The Hindu community has now started to adjust their view of the Britain that they live in. They are now trying to fit into reality, and it is an uncomfortable adjustment. In a nutshell, Leicester played a vital role in making NRIs come to the streets to protest against BBC over the documentary. Notably, BBC was one of the most prominent culprits in spreading fake narratives. They gave a platform to those who were clearly anti-India and anti-Hindu. It was completely biased in its Leicester reporting and then equally biased with the documentary on Prime Minister.
Pt Satish said, “Until Leicester, British Hindus ascribed the BBCs bias to VPCC, ‘vestigial post-colonial condescension’, an unconscious bias a relic of ‘past glories when white supremacists enslaved millions of Indians, but that view of the BBC, changed with Leicester. Here the BBC provided media protection for hatred-infused criminals and painted Hindu victims as perpetrators of violence. Now with the recent anti-India, anti ‘elected, democratic BJP Government ‘mockumentary”, most British Hindus accept that the BBC is not ‘whiter than white’, that it has sold its soul to breaking India forces, and now acts against their well-being as citizens.”
This article is based on the discussion with Pt Satish K Sharma.
