Why India’s top TV news watchdog has failed to control hate speech

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Editor's note: Ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections last year, News18, a Hindi news channel, hosted a “debate” titled “Is there a political alliance against Hindus?”  Aman Chopra, a senior editor at the channel, was anchoring the show. But he wasn’t moderating. It seemed he’d made up his mind. “Ye 80 ke khilaf hai mahagathbandhan [The grand alliance is against the majority]”, he said, referring to the share of the Hindu population in the state. Anyone who disagreed, he heckled. He told a Muslim panelist, “You have a problem with Hindus”. The tickers on the show echoed his bluster: “15% Muslim 85% Hindu par bhari” [15% Muslims dominate 85% Hindus] and “Hinduon ke khilaf sab mil gaye hai? [Everybody has ganged up against Hindus].” Last month, the News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority, India’s leading self-regulatory body for TV news channels, slammed News18 for the show. “The anchor had given the debate a thrust, which is communal in nature and not appropriate,” it said. Zee News and Times Now, too, were pulled up for airing communally sensitive programmes. All three were …