CJP has filed an official complaint with the NBSA over ‘inciteful’ and violence-inducing content aired by Zee News. We took note after Zee News saw fit to air divisive content on June 30, 2018, during its ‘Kya Kehta Hai India’ programme.
The show, a poetry meet or kavi sammelan, featured multiple poets who called for widespread violence against the population of Jammu and Kashmir, with no regard to the hatred they were propagating. They also displayed no sensitivity towards the possible effects of such propaganda, especially on the delicate socio-cultural fabric of Indian society today.
Noting the growing hatred in the country, along with Zee News’ reported 150 million viewers and massive reach, CJP wrote to the Zee Media Corporation on July 9, seeking an appropriate apology to the Indian public from the channel, “for carrying such irresponsible, inciteful and violence inducing content” and breaching basic media ethics and principles.
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However, after failing to get a response from the Zee Media Corporation, CJP has filed a complaint regarding the programme within the prescribed time limit with the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA), which has been established by the News Broadcasters Association (NBA). In our letter, CJP noted that Zee News has violated NBSA code of conduct, which is “To ensure that national security is not violated”. Our letter explains that the content the channel broadcasted “encouraged and promoted violence against a particular community, thus endangering national security”.
Our letter emphasises that this “hatred keeps growing its tentacles to reach every Indian living room without any opposition and is against the Preambular goal of fraternity and integrity of the nation.” It states that programmes, such as the one Zee News aired, “are aimed at fuelling disharmony within the nation,” and that they undermine “the promise of brotherhood, peace and inclusivity on which the Indian nation is premised.”
CJP has called on the NBSA to direct Zee News to issue a public apology, during primetime, addressing the nation, and apologising for airing “such irresponsible, inciteful and violence inducing content which is in breach of the allegiance to media ethics and principles which are supposed to bind and guide them as a responsible news channel.” We have also asked that the NBSA direct Zee News “to not telecast such hateful content again” as it “violates the fundamental tenets of our constitution which promotes harmony, dialogue and understanding between sections of Indians, and is based on equality and non-discrimination of all.” CJP has also called for the NBSA to direct Zee News to provide proportionate monetary compensation to a citizen’s group, like CJP, that is “battling the vicious politics of hatred.”
Our complete letter to the NBSA may be read here:
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Hate Watch: CJP writes to Zee News