5 Nov 2023 6:46 AM GMT
The News Broadcasting & Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) on Thursday (2nd November) criticised Times Now Navbharat for calling the Haldwani protesters “Jihadi Gang” and a part of “Zameen Jihad”.
The NBDSA said that by using such terms the channel “reiterated stereotypes that are historically used to target, attack & ridicule communities based on their religion”.
The authority headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice AK Sikri held that by giving the issue of illegal encroachment of public land a communal colour, the channel had violated the Code of Ethics & Broadcasting Standards and the Specific Guidelines covering Reportage on Racial and Religious Harmony.
NBDSA accordingly directed the broadcaster to take down the video from the website of the channel and from YouTube. The removal of the content in question must be confirmed with the NBDSA within 7 days, it was ordered.
NBDSA also noted that the use of the word "Jihadi" was out of context and was used only in relation to a particular community. It advised the channel to use the term “with great introspection and in the correct context”.
The complaint considered by the NBDSA pertains to an episode on the ‘Haldwani Evictions’ aired on Times Now Navbharat on 30.12.2022. The report was in the backdrop of the decision of the Uttarakhand High Court, that had allowed the eviction of 4,000 families living on what the railways claimed was its land. The channel claimed that a phenomenon called ‘Zameen Jihad’ was taking place in Devbhoomi, Uttarakhand.
The complainant Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) pointed out to the NBDSA, that the trend of using the suffix "Jihad" to propagate a communally divisive narrative is gaining traction in mainstream news media. “The moment any news from the Muslim Community is involved, news channels rush to label it as some kind of "Jihad”. Using such terms is denigrating and demeaning towards the Muslim community” the complainant said.
In its report, the channel also likened the incident to the protest headed by Muslim women against the CAA-NRA at Shaheen Bagh. The NDBSA noted that such comparisons drawn by the broadcaster reinforced the narrative it was trying to push.
While the channel termed the complaint 'frivolous and baseless', the NBDSA concluded that a communal colour was given to the issue by the anchor.