Latest news with #India:TheModiQuestion
Telegraph
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
BBC under fire for calling Kashmir terrorists ‘militants'
The Indian government has complained to the BBC for calling the attackers in last week's Kashmir massacre 'militants' rather than 'terrorists'. In a letter to Jackie Martin, head of BBC India, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said it objected to the corporation's reporting of the April 22 attack in Pahalgam which left 26 people dead. 'A formal letter has been sent to the BBC on the terming of terrorists as militants. The external publicity division of the MEA will be monitoring the reporting of the BBC,' an official told The Telegraph. The BBC has previously come under fire from the Hindu nationalist government of Narendra Modi, India's prime minister, particularly over its coverage of human rights and minority issues. In January 2023, the corporation broadcast a documentary featuring criticism of Mr Modi's actions as chief minister of state during the 2002 Gujarat riots, during which around 800 Muslims were killed. In response, the government invoked emergency laws to prevent the programme from being shown in India. Authorities ordered Twitter and YouTube to take down links and posts about the film – called India: The Modi Question – and branded it a 'propaganda piece' made with a 'colonial mindset'. A month later, tax officials raided the corporation's New Delhi offices, which led to the BBC restructuring its Indian operations.
Hindustan Times
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Why is BBC India facing criticism over Pahalgam terror attack?
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has once again come under criticism in India, this time over its coverage of the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam. On April 22, terrorists opened fire and killed 26 people, mostly tourists, at the Baisaran meadow near the picturesque town. Officials told Hindustan Times on Monday that the Indian government has issued a formal letter to the BBC, expressing strong disapproval of its coverage of the Pahalgam attack, particularly objecting to the description of terrorists as 'militants'. According to PTI news agency, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) communicated India's strong sentiments to Jackie Martin, BBC's India Head, regarding the network's coverage of the Pahalgam incident. 'A formal letter has been sent to the BBC on terming terrorists as militants. The External Publicity Division of the MEA will be monitoring the reporting of the BBC,' an official was quoted as saying by PTI. Separately, officials said the Indian government has blocked 16 Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading provocative, communally sensitive, and misleading narratives against India, its Army, and security forces following the Pahalgam attack. The blocked YouTube channels include: Dawn News, Irshad Bhatti, SAMAA TV, ARY NEWS, BOL NEWS, Raftar, The Pakistan Referenc, Geo News, Samaa Sports, GNN, Uzair Cricket, Umar Cheema Exclusive, Asma Shirazi, Muneeb Farooq, SUNO News, and Razi Naama. Before the current controversy surrounding the Pahalgam terror attack coverage, the BBC faced criticism in 2023 when the Delhi High Court issued a notice to the UK organisation. The notice was based on a suit filed by a Gujarat-based NGO, which alleged that the BBC's documentary 'India: The Modi Question' defamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian judiciary. The two-part documentary focused on the 2002 Gujarat riots, when Modi served as the state's chief minister. The first part was released on January 18, 2023, and the second on January 24, 2023, on the BBC's website and aired on its UK-based television channel 'BBC Two'. The UK's national broadcaster has defended the film, saying it 'was rigorously researched according to the highest editorial standards', while the Indian government dismissed the documentary as 'propaganda' and a product of the 'colonial mindset'. In January of that year, the BJP government directed video-sharing platform YouTube to remove the documentary and asked Twitter to remove related posts. In February, the Supreme Court rejected a public interest litigation that sought a ban on the BBC in India, calling the petition 'completely misconceived'. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had also initiated a FEMA investigation against BBC India in April 2023, following findings from the Income Tax Department's three-day survey at the broadcaster's offices in Delhi and other cities in February that year.
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Business Standard
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
India slams BBC for calling terrorists 'militants' in Pahalgam reportage
The Centre has written a formal letter to British public broadcaster BBC over its reportage on the Pahalgam terror attack, objecting to the use of the word "militants" to describe "terrorists". In a communication to Jackie Martin, who is the India head of the BBC, the Ministry of External Affairs said, 'A formal letter has been sent to the BBC on terming terrorists as militants. The External Publicity Division of the MEA will be monitoring the reporting of the BBC.' BBC's coverage of Pahalgam terror attack The British broadcaster has done extensive coverage on the April 22 terror attack at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 people - mostly tourists - were killed. The reports carried words such as "militants" and "gunmen" to describe terrorists, who fired indiscriminately at the batch of tourists. For instance, a BBC report described the terrorists as "gunmen", stating: 'A huge manhunt is under way for the militants suspected of carrying out the killings.' The report even described Lashkar-e-Taiba, a designated terrorist organisation based in Pakistan, as a "militant group". "Police say all the three are members of the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)," a line in the BBC report read. India government vs BBC This is not the first time the Indian government has raised concerns over the BBC's India operations. In January 2023, the Centre criticised the BBC after it released a controversial documentary titled 'India: The Modi Question', which showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's alleged role during the 2002 Gujarat riots. The Ministry of External Affairs labelled the film a 'propaganda piece' that reflected a 'colonial mindset' and promoted a discredited narrative. The documentary was blocked in India under emergency laws, with the government directing platforms like YouTube and Twitter to remove links, citing potential harm to public order and India's image abroad.
