The News Broadcasting & Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) ordered news broadcaster News18 India to take down videos that mislead news and give it a communal narrative. It fined the channel Rs 25,000 and warned them against repeating this action in the future.
The five orders issued by NBDSA relate to primetime shows anchored by Aman Chopra. In all five cases, News18 India was found to have violated the Code of Ethics & Broadcasting Standards.
The first order mentions the show aired on October 4 last year when Chopra called out public flogging in Kheda village of Gujarat as “Gujarat Police ne unke saath dandiya khela (Gujarat police played dandiya– a popular Gujarat dance form performed during Dussehra– with them).”
Chopra, in his primetime show gleefully shows a group of Gujarat police officials publicly assaulting a few Muslim men who are allegedly accused of pelting stones at a Garba event last week during Navratri festivities.
Chopra used statements such as “Gujarat police ne unka ilaaj kia,” (Gujarat police cured them)“Garbe mei itna interest kyun hai Muslim yuvakon ko? (Why are Muslim young men interested in Gujarat) Koi aur tylohar mein itna interest nahin hain. Lekin pehchan chupakar kyun jaate hai,”(They are not interested in other festivals but here they hide their faces and join) and“Aisa kya mil raha hai garbe mei ki Islam ki rigidness khatam ho jati hai. (What is so uniquely found at Garba programs that the rigidity of Islam ends?)”, Asked Chopra suggestively.
Two complaints were filed against Chopra- one by an Indrajeet Ghorpade and the other by the Citizens for Justice and Peace.
The NBDSA stated, “News18 India failed to condemn the police violence e. Furthermore tickers used in the show gave an impression “that all Muslim men had attended garba celebrations only with ulterior motives”.
The second order was based on the show aired on September 29. The complaint filed by Ghorpade stated that the programme was aired to portray all Muslim men are criminals, trying to harm/deceive Hindu women. “The entire Muslim community and in particular the men were demonized in the impugned broadcast,” the complaint stated.
The NBDSA ordered News18 India to remove the video from the public domain and cautioned the channel to use tickers that could generate communal disharmony.
The third order was based on a program anchored by Chopra on August 5. The complaint was filed by M Huzaifa who said the said programme titled “Desh Nahi Jhukne Denge Ghazwa e Hind” (Country will not let you bow down Ghazwa-e-Hind) was reporting on demographic changes near the borders regions of Uttar Pradesh, Assam with Bangladesh.
Taglines such as “Border par Ghazwa-e-Hind Pura”(Ghazwa-e-Hind is finally over at the Indian border), “Border ka Islamikaran Pura” (Islamization is finally over at the Indian border) “Border par Badhe-Bhaijaan, Khatarnaak hai Plan” (Increase of Muslim population is a dangerous plan) were aired and terms such as ‘Muslim Corridor’, ‘Muslim Borders’, ‘Jansankhya Jihad’ etc. were used by Chopra.
The complainant said that Chopra mentions India as a Hindu Rashtra implying that he did not believe in secularism and the democratic fabric of the country.
Anti-Muslim tickers such as “#BorderParPanIslam”, “Border par Islamikaran pura?”, “Border par badhe ‘bhaijan’, Khatarnak he Plan?” and “Border par Ghazwa-e-Barood bichh gya he” was used.
“The impugned show clearly violated the Code of Ethics & Broadcasting Standards, particularly the principles of Self-Regulation and Specific Guidelines Covering Reportage,” said the complaint.
The NBDSA said there would have been “no problem” if News18 India had “raised only national security concerns in respect of demographic changes around the border areas of the country due to infiltration” and had sought the government’s response on this. Instead, the channel “attempted to communalise the issue” without seeking “accountability” from the government.
The NBDSA fined News18 India Rs 20,000/- and ordered it to take down the videos from the public domain immediately.
The fourth order was based on a show aired on January 18, 2022, during the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections where now chief minister Yogi Adityanath made a statement, “it’s 80% vs 20%”. Complaints were filed by Citizens for Justice and Peace and one Anuj Dubey.
The NBDSA, in its order stated that the tone used by the channel’s anchor Aman Chopra had “religious undertones” and was “communal in nature and not appropriate”.
NBDSA pointed out that Chopra had made statements like “Ye 80 k khilaf hai mahagathbandhan” (This Grand Alliance is against 80% of the population– meaning Hindus) and “Wo keh ray lwi kay unhey Hinduo sey problem hai aur wo 80 kay khilaaf hai” (They do not like Hindus and are against the majoritarian population). “A news anchor should be objective, impartial and neutral,” the NBDSA commented.
News18 India was fined Rs 50,000 and told to remove videos of the broadcast. It was also instructed to publicise the NBDSA’s orders on its ticker once every hour for 24 hours from 8 am on March 6 to 8 am on March 7.
The fifth order was based on a show that was aired on July 28 last year. It was about the murder of Karnataka BJP Yuva Morcha leader Praveen Nettaru in Dakshina Kannada.
The complaint was filed by Utkarsh Mishra and Vidya Mittal. They stated in the complaint that the channel failed to report on two Muslim deaths that happened before and after Nettaru’s murder – 19-year-old Masood who was killed by members of the Bajrang Dal on July 20 and 32-year-old Fazil, who was murdered BY Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on July 28.
“The broadcaster also failed to inform the viewers about the statement made by Praveen’s father wherein he claimed that Praveen was a part of the Hindu right-wing outfit and he was destined for this and that there was little possibility of justice as he was part of such outfits,” the complaint stated.
Chopra further did not allow one of the panelist to speak and kept interrupting throughout the show.
News18 India was instructed to take down videos of the show and “not repeat” the violations in the future.
