NDTV ran the slate along with comments from the public speaking out against the ban
India's NDTV has halted programming in protest at the banning of the BBC documentary India's Daughter.
The network ran a slate referring to the film's title, during the hour-long slot when it should have aired.
The film,
which features an interview with one of the men convicted of the Delhi
bus rape, was due to be broadcast by the channel on Sunday night.
But it was outlawed by the Indian authorities on the grounds of "objectionable content".
Explaining its decision not to broadcast an alternative show
from 21:00 to 22:00 local time (15:30-16:30 GMT), editorial director
Sonia Singh
said in a tweet: "We won't shout, but we will be heard."
Other Twitter users praised the decision. One comment read:
"Kudos @ndtv for the #IndiasDaughter protest. A surprisingly mature
decision in a mediascape (sic) that seems to deteriorate buy by the
day."
Another said: "@ndtv they may not always be right, but this time they are."
NDTV
Mukesh Singh (second from right) and his fellow rapists are appealing against their sentences
Filmmaker Leslee Udwin, who directed India's Daughter, has
rejected claims by the authorities that the documentary contained
offensive remarks towards women, and could cause a public outcry.
She also denied allegations that she broke a contract with the prison by airing the interview with rapist, Mukesh Singh.
He is facing the death penalty for his part in the rape and
murder of a medical student on a bus in Delhi in 2012, which sparked
protests across India.
During the film, which aired on BBC4 in Britain on Wednesday
night, he showed no remorse and blamed the woman for not behaving like a
"decent girl".
The BBC's director of television, Danny Cohen defended the
corporation's decision to show the film in the UK, despite a request
from the Indian government that it shelve the broadcast.
"We do not feel the film as currently edited could ever be
construed as derogatory to women or an affront to their dignity," he
said.
More on This Story
The documentary 'India's Daughter' is about the brutal gang rape and murder of a student in Delhi
The BBC is being targeted by angry social media users in India after a
documentary featuring an interview with a rapist on death row.
The BBC Storyville film 'India's Daughter' focuses on the
brutal gang rape and murder of a student on a bus in Delhi, an incident
which reverberated around the world and led to widespread protests about
the safety of women in India. A court in Delhi has blocked the
broadcast of the film in India, and Indian home minister Rajnath Singh
has
promised an investigation into whether "norms have been violated" for the filming. Just like on
mainstream
media, the debate on social media is focused on an interview with one
of the four rapists sentenced to death for the crime. In the interview,
he expressed no remorse and blamed the victim for fighting back.
On Twitter and Facebook, those opposing the documentary has been tweeting
#banBBC - the hashtag has been mentioned more than 13,000 times in the last 24 hours. A few others have been using the hashtags
#boycottbbc,
#banbbcasap and
#banbbcinIndia.
"Does rape happen only in India? It's an attempt to malign India on a global platform. We must stop it," said a
tweet
which was shared almost 200 times. "The BBC is doing what western media
does best - glorifying and making a celebrity out of a psycho rapist,"
remarked another user, while another tweet
said, "Britishers have left India six decades ago, but their political legacy still rule this country?"
Anshul Saxena, who has
posted an open letter
using the tag #banBBC, says he is hurt by the BBC's decision to air the
documentary. "This kind of journalism only spreads a wrong anti-social
message towards women. A criminal is a criminal; one cannot learn from
him," he told BBC Trending.
An interview with Mukesh Singh (second from right) has divided opinion online
Prominent activist Kavita Krishnan
wrote on Facebook:
"I am concerned at the sheer confidence with which a single film, made
by someone with scant familiarity with the daily decisions, dilemmas and
struggles of India's activists, can claim to set the agenda for change
in India... Already, the film has sent a message that due legal process
can be given short shrift and junked, for the noble agenda of exposing a
'rapist's mind' to the world".
While much of the anger has been directed at the BBC's social
media accounts, not all the tweets using the #banBBC tag have been
against the broadcaster. "Fact: A critical documentary can't hurt
India's "image" remotely as much as a knee-jerk government ban on it
can,"
tweeted a columnist, while another post
said:
"India is suffering from the ostrich syndrome. Head in the sand and
pretend no one can see it. That no-one is raping women in India".
The 'banBBC' tag was not the most popular to emerge from this controversy. There was also
#NirbhayaInsulted (The victim was called "Nirbhaya," or "the fearless one" by the media) and
#DontRapeAgain.
The two tags were used more than 51,000 and 24,000 times respectively
and have also been widely used by Indian news channels Times Now TV and
Zee News.
The reactions to the documentary have not been restricted to
Facebook and Twitter. Although the BBC has only broadcast the
documentary in the UK, versions of it uploaded by YouTube users have
been widely shared in India. YouTube said in a statement that it had
complied with a request to take down a page hosting the documentary, but
users quickly posted other links to versions of the film.
The rape led to widespread protests and candlelight vigils across the country
Petitions have also been
posted on website Change.org, asking the government to reverse the ban. On Reddit, the debate has led to a robust
discussion about the ban and how to
solve the problem of rape.
There's been plenty of support for the documentary online
too. One of Bangalore's most prominent Twitter voices is PR
professional Tinu Cherian Abraham who has watched the documentary. He
says the controversy is unfair and that those angry have not watched the
film yet. "It doesn't justify rape or #NirbhayaInsulted. The more we
deny that it is a systemic issue, the less we can solve this problem. We
must understand that the victim's parents themselves were interviewed
in India's Daughter".
The BBC meanwhile has defended its decision to air the
"harrowing documentary, made with the full support and co-operation of
the victim's parents".
"The film handles the issue responsibly and we are confident
the programme fully complies with our editorial guidelines," it said in a
press release.
The 2012 gang rape was regarded as a watershed moment for India's attitudes towards the crime
A
British film-maker has defended an interview with a convicted Indian
rapist, hours after authorities there launched a slew of legal measures.
Leslee Udwin denies claims that she broke a contract with the
prison by airing the interview with the rapist, convicted over the 2012
Delhi bus rape.
She said India's legal actions, including a request for a global ban, had no legal or practical basis.
The film has been banned in India, but the BBC showed it in the UK.
In the interview, rapist Mukesh Singh, who is facing the death penalty, shows no remorse.
The 23-year-old student, who died days after the attack in
December 2012, was repeatedly beaten and gang-raped while being driven
around Delhi in a bus.
In the interview, Singh suggested she might have survived if she had not fought back.
Film-maker Leslee Udwin said the film "was a powerful tool for change"
Earlier in the week a Delhi court issued an injunction against
the film after police argued the interview contained offensive remarks
towards women, and could cause a public outcry.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh has since promised an inquiry
into how access was gained to the prison, and threatened unspecified
action against the BBC for airing the film.
Tihar Jail, which allowed the interview, has alleged that Udwin broke an agreement by not allowing officials to vet her footage.
But Udwin has insisted that she followed all the correct procedures.
"I wrote an impassioned letter to the director general of prisons. She granted her in principle permission," Udwin told the BBC.
"The Ministry of Home Affairs then granted a written signed
permission. I got a signed permission from the convict in this case and a
permission signed by the prison."
Udwin earlier told a news conference she had given the prison
all 16 hours of footage from her interview, but officials watched only
three hours before telling her there was too much material.
She then submitted a shorter version, which was approved.
She added that she was confident the decision to ban the film would be overturned in Delhi's High Court.
Mukesh Singh (second from right) and his fellow rapists are appealing against their sentences
The documentary, India's Daughter, was due to be shown on the BBC and NDTV on Sunday.
While NDTV has been forced to shelve its broadcast, the BBC changed its schedules and aired the documentary on Wednesday night.
The director general of Tihar Jail said officials had issued a
"legal notice" to the BBC on Wednesday requesting that it did not show
the film, even in the UK.
The notice apparently came from Rakesh Singh, an official in the ministry of information.
The BBC's director of television, Danny Cohen, replied to Mr
Singh, saying: "We do not feel the film as currently edited could ever
be construed as derogatory to women or an affront to their dignity.
"Indeed, it highlights the challenges women in India face today."
He added: "We are not planning to transmit the film in any territory which lies under Indian legal jurisdiction."
Some activists have criticised the film and accused the film-maker of giving a platform to the rapist.
But the father of the victim described the film as "the bitter truth" and said everyone should watch it.
"If a man can speak like that in jail, imagine what he would say if he was walking free," he told NDTV.
