Image Courtesy: Youtube.com
CJP has written to News18 India against the false and misinformed content of its show “Toh hijab ke liye bam barsenge? / Danke ki chot par” (Translation: So will bombs be hurled for hijab? / Asking openly) anchored by Rima Prasad that aired on News18 India on February 15, 2022.
The complaint begins by mentioning that the entire show was based on a false news with the intention of misinforming the viewers. It kept reiterating the point that bombs were hurled at a school in Murshidabad, while both AltNews and The Print verified that no such incident had indeed taken place.
The narrative of the show appears to suggest that it intends tospread hatred against Muslim and demean them. This is evident in the communally polarising questions asked by the host/ anchor Rima Prasad such as:
“Kya hijab ki ladayi bambazi par aa chuki hai? Toh ab hijab ke liye bam barsenge? Danke ki chot par puch rahi hu kya bam barsayenge, shiksha mei shariyat layenge?”
(Translation: Has the war for the hijab come down to bombing? Will you now hurl bombs for hijab? I am asking openly. Will you hurl bombs, will you considerbring Shariyat (Muslim personal law) into education?)
The host openly made false statements such as,“Desh ke kayi hisso mei pradarshan kari itne ugr ho chuke hai, haalat itne kharab ho gye hai ki hijab pehen kar aane se mana karne par school mei pathtar bazi ki gayi, tod phod kiya gaya, dawa kiya bam bhi yahan phenke gaye.” (Translation: In various parts across the country the protestors have been so violent, that they pelted stones in schools and vandalised them.)
Thispresented a distorted view about not only the hijab controversy, but also turned out to be fake news as no such incident bombs being hurled was reported from any Murshidabad school. The story was fact checked and flagged as fake news in a report by a news portal and a fact checker, Alt news as well as The Print.
The complaint also describes the intention of the show of giving a communal angle to the incident and labeling the entire Muslim community as terrorists and bombers. The complaint also states that the host clearly did not want to listen to the leader of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) Mr. Badal when he said “Bengal mein hijab ko pehenne ka ya nahi pehenne ka aisa koi rules nahi hai. Ek school ka teacher, jo hijab pehenkar jaraha hai usko mana kyun kiya? Mein unko kehna chahta hun aapke channel ke madhyam se koi hijab pehen ke koi aatankwadi school mei jar ha hain? Hijab pehen ne mei problem kya hai samasya kya hai?” (Translation: There are no rules in West Bengal around the hijab at all. Why was a teacher wearing the hijab prevented from entering school? What is the problem with hijab anyway? Through your channel I want to ask your viewers why they view someone wearing the hijab as a terrorist?) Th efact that the channel ignored this clearly showed the disinterest of the host in allowing different points of view to be aired.
The complaint also stated that the entire telecast appeared to be one-sided and partisan violating the basic principles of journalism and those laid down by the News Broadcasters Digital & Standards Authority (NBDSA).
The complaint also mentions that the show flashed inflammatory and false statements like:
“Hijab ki ladayi bambazi par aayi” (Translation: The battle for the hijab has come down to bombing)
“Toh hijab ke liye bam barsenge” (Translation: So now bombs will go off for hijabs)
These were carried in large fonts across the screen throughout the show (on the ticker) which clearly showed the malafide intentions of the channel and the host. It also exposes how the channel engaged in Islamophobic propaganda, spreading hatred and vilifying the Muslim community anddubbing the entire community as terrorists.
The complaint also highlights that the show violates many guidelines issued by the NBDSA as also its Code of Ethics apart from attracting offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The complaint may be read here:
Related:
CJP writes to News18 against “80 vs 20” debate show’s communal content
CJP moves NBDSA against News18’s “80 vs. 20” diatribe
CJP writes to Zee News over their Population Politics show