Republic Bharat, the Hindi news channel arm of Republic TV, was fined £ 20,000 (approximately Rs 19.73 lakh) by the Communications Office of the UK communications regulator on Tuesday for broadcasting content that included “offensive language. “,” hate speech “and” abuse “. or derogatory treatment of people, groups, religions or communities ”. Republic Bharat has also been asked to air an apology on the channel.
In a statement detailing the restrictions, the Office of Communications, or Ofcom, said that on the channel’s “Poochta Hai Bharat” program that aired on September 6, 2019, the views expressed by the host and editor-in-chief of Republic TV, Arnab Goswami and some of the guests violated their broadcasting rules. The sanctions have been imposed on Worldview Media Network Limited, which owns the license to broadcast Republic Bharat in the UK.
The program for which Republic Bharat has been penalized was related to India’s Chandrayaan 2 spacecraft mission to the moon and “involved a comparison of India’s space exploration and technological advancements compared to Pakistan, and the alleged terrorist activities by Pakistan against Indian targets, “the statement said.
Ofcom objected to comments made by Goswami and his guests on the panel discussion, which according to the regulator “amounted to hate speech against the Pakistani people and derogatory and abusive treatment of the Pakistani people.”
The statement noted that referring to the Pakistani people, the guests and Goswami said: “Their scientists, doctors, leaders, politicians, they are all terrorists. Even your athletes. All the children are terrorists there. Every child is a terrorist. It is a terrorist entity ”.
“In the context of these criticisms, the presenter [Goswami]Addressing Pakistan and / or the Pakistani people, he said: We make scientists, you make terrorists.
Ofcom also mentioned comments made by one of the guests identified as “General Sinha”, who referred to the people of Pakistan as “beggars” and threatened a military attack on the country.
Ofcom noted that the content of the program was “potentially offensive and not sufficiently justified by the context.” He added that the comments made were “expressions of hatred based on the intolerance of the Pakistani people for their nationality only” and promoted and justified intolerance towards the Pakistani people among viewers.
He also noted the use of the term “Paki”, which he said was a racist word and unacceptable to the UK audience.
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