अँगरेज़ चले गए अंग्रेज़ियत छोड़ गए | We Indians often use this phrase to refer to Indians who have mastered the English school of propaganda. But even those English ones have learned it somewhere. The corresponding phrase for them is नाज़ी चले गए, नाज़ियत छोड़ गए | Joseph Gobel’s school of propaganda has been well aped by the Nazis’ leftist counterparts. At the same time, we will have to acknowledge that organisations like the UK’s BBC do it with less intensity, which is by design more effective in the long run.
No relief for the BBC
Recently, James Cleverly, the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, met with EAM Jaishankar. He was in India for a multilateral G20 foreign ministers’ meeting. But, as his surname suggests, James raised a bilateral issue with EAM Jaishankar. No points for guessing that he expressed concerns about disagreements over the survey conducted by Income Tax officers.
Cleverly is quoted by media portals as saying, “One of the advantages of having such a strong and professional relationship with Dr Jaishankar is I am able to bring up, and indeed he brings up with me, some of these sensitive issues. I did raise it with him.”
EAM Jaishanakr wasted no time in returning the professional courtesy. Maverick Minister told Cleverly that it is the law of the land in action and nothing else. An official said, “UK Foreign Secretary brought up the BBC tax issue with EAM today. He was firmly told that all entities operating in India must comply fully with relevant laws and regulations,”
Also read: India’s Bold Move Against the BBC: Decoding the Motives
BBC and the British Monarchy
In an ideal scenario, that should be enough. Ministers of the British Cabinet are not used to facing this kind of blunt language. Instead, such disdain was reserved for British parliamentarians talking to Asians, Africans, and other regions of the erstwhile third world. The reversal of diplomatic order, and that too on an issue related to the British Broadcasting Corporation, should send shivers down the British spines.
The reason behind it is simple. The British monarchy, British government, and BBC are interlinked by a thread that is constantly getting thinner and thinner. BBC, the organisation at the bottom rung, acts as an amplifier of Brits’ voices all across the world. The BBC was established by a royal charter and operates under its agreement with the secretary of state for digital, culture, media, and sport.
The institutional connection with the power bloc is the reason why it has left its footprints all across the world. The BBC is funded by annual television licence fees. On the BBC’s part, the British government sets a fee to be levied from all British households, companies, and organisations. In essence, the BBC is indebted to the British Monarchy, the head of state.
No wonder; the company takes jingoistic British lines on its international services all across the world. It runs in 40 languages. It broadcast radio news, speeches, and debates on analogue and digital shortwave platforms, including internet streaming, podcasting, satellite, DAB, FM, and MW relays. The regions covered by it include East and South Africa; West and Central Africa; Europe and the Middle East; the Americas and Caribbean; East Asia; South Asia; Australasia; and the United Kingdom.
Also read: There is a divide between the British and the Broadcasting Corporation of BBC
BBC’s propaganda in India
Its wide reach should instill a sense of responsibility. The BBC has anything but that. Its platform is constantly under the radar for violating various norms and spreading propaganda. The corporation is accused of having a left-wing bias, which is substantiated by more than one instance of fake news peddling against leaders on the right.
Let’s start with India. The BBC has often amplified internal security issues in India by painting them as state-sponsored ones. In 1993, when the Indian Army laid a cordon around Hazratbal shrine to free it from terrorists, the BBC broadcast it as a “Blue Star type operation.
In 1993: Kashmiri extremists occupied Hazratbal Shrine.
But BBC reported Indian army raided the shrineIn 1995: Kashmiri extremists burnt down Charar-e-Shrif Shrine.
But BBC telecast showed Russian tanks in Chechnya to imply that the shrine caught fire due to Indian Army's tanks pic.twitter.com/5jdSVjrPQM— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) August 14, 2019
Two years later, a Sufi shrine named Charar-e-sharief was burned down by terrorists. The BBC tried to tell the world that the Indian Army was ultimately responsible for it.
1995, Charar-i-Sharief #Kashmir #MastGul #BBC https://t.co/Waj8Dw2hZz
— guyfromvalley🏕🏔⛷ (@vineetkaul) August 11, 2019
The BBC’s misinformation campaign on Kashmir is so intense and so grotesque that it’s tough to recount all of them here. But we can definitely recount how it tried to dismantle the peace after seeing happy people in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370.
https://twitter.com/NicolaCareem/status/1160107113890426880
There is no doubt that the organisation has a particular interest in disharmony. When the Yogi government completed four years and was being praised for law and order, the company peddled a fake statistic to prove him ineffective. The UP Police had to come out with NCRB statistics to debunk it.
In the same year, the BBC declared ‘Jai Shri Ram’ a murder cry. One would have to be out of their mind or extremely biassed against Hindus to claim it as a murder cry. The BBC’s inclination is well known to everyone. Even its subtle propaganda is now exposed by vigilant Indians as being a pro-Pakistan channel. The corporation had to apologise for showing India’s map without Jammu and Kashmir.
In January of this year, the publication crossed all limits when it directly violated the Indian Supreme Court. Through a documentary titled “India: The Modi Question” the BBC tried to portray PM Modi as a culprit of the 2002 Gujarat riots. Even Americans don’t agree with it.
Also read: Congress must introspect its own history before supporting BBC documentary
No one is happy with the BBC
Seeing all of this, it is easy to conclude that the BBC is against any kind of stability in India. But there is another side to the story. That side makes it a villain for the British public and even some government authorities too.
In 2021, the BBC shut down Christine Fair, a political scientist, for speaking her mind about the link between Pakistan and the Taliban. Time and again, Hindus and Sikhs residing in the UK have accused the BBC of having a pro-Muslim bias. It is well reflected in the way they cover issues affecting Muslims.
For instance, the corporation spent hours documenting the unfortunate fate of Shamima Begum. That is not anti-humanitarian, but her attempt to return has nothing to do with the war against terrorism. That kind of sympathetic approach has been shown in the past too. In 2004, Barbara Pleitt, working for the BBC, said that she was crying at the sight of Yaseer Arafat being taken for medical treatment. After a huge controversy, the BBC issued a token apology and sanctioned Barbara for this kind of plain bias
These kinds of reports are not new for Israeli officials. They know that whatever they do, the BBC will always portray them in a bad light, just like they do to Mr. Modi. During the Lebanon war, Israeli diplomats started an official boycott of the corporation too.
Also read: Fake news peddler BBC needs immediate ban in India
Even local Brits are not happy
More recently, the BBC has embraced wokeism like a separated mother embracing her lost children. It is rewriting history and remaking television dramas in order to make them likeable for extreme leftists. Very few people, a small but well-organised minority, like it, while the majority don’t, especially in conservative England.
Over the last few decades, the BBC has left no stone unturned in offending local English. It has invited the ire of the British public too by engaging in irresponsible journalism during the coverage of the death of Prince Phillip. Britishers loyal to monarchy haven’t forgotten how the BBC disgraced the Royal family in the former Princess Diana controversy. More recently, its chairman Richard Sharp’s relationship with Boris Johnson, the former PM, has been the centre of controversy as well.
The BBC was established 100 years ago. It has outlived its importance for the Brits. The island nation’s economy is not flourishing anymore. Its supermarkets are empty, and the government has resorted to rationing. Britishers need other countries for trade. In those circumstances, shouldering the burden of a tainted organisation like the BBC will only worsen it. No country would like to sign a free trade agreement with a nation whose official broadcaster tries to spread propaganda against its prime minister.
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