When Indira Gandhi banned BBC… twice
3 min read . Updated: 17 Feb 2023, 11:05 AM IST
PremiumThe Indira Gandhi government banned the BBC twice in the 70s. One of those bans was in connection with two documentary films.
An income tax survey operation at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) offices in Delhi and Mumbai ended on February 16—roughly three days after it had begun. This was done in response to cases involving alleged profits transfers and international taxation.
The ‘searches’ were carried out following the broadcast by the BBC documentary about the Gujarat riots of 2002, which criticised Narendra Modi's role as the state's then chief minister. While the BBC has said it will “continue to report without fear of favour", questions are being raised if the I-T raid is a result of the British media company for rubbing the centre government the wrong way after it broadcasted documentary on 2002 riots.
Interestingly enough, this is not the first time the BBC faced legal action from the Indian government. The Indira Gandhi government banned the BBC twice in the past.
The BBC was in trouble in India in the early 1970s. Even at that time, it was about contentious BBC documentaries. When two documentaries named Calcutta and Phantom India were released, while Indira Gandhi was the prime minister of India, the Indian diaspora in the UK was outraged. Even the Indian government took exception at the movies and briefly kicked the BBC out of the country.
Louis Malle directed the French documentary miniseries Phantom India, which was about India. The Indian government believed Malle painted a biassed picture of India by emphasising the underdeveloped regions as opposed to the developing ones.
Malle also served as director of the French documentary - Calcutta. Malle's depiction of poverty, slums and rituals in the city sparked debate. One of the harshest critics of Calcutta was Oscar-winning filmmaker Satyajit Ray, who questioned Malle's motivations.
In 1975, a number of Congress MPs banded together to demand that the government ban the BBC from ever reporting in India while accusing the media company of publishing “anti-India" articles. Their statement said that the BBC had never missed a chance to disparage India and purposefully distort the nation. During the Emergency under then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the BBC was expelled.
As per the 2022 Reuters Institute Digital News Report, in the last five years (2018-2022), trust in BBC News decreased from 75% to 55%. The percentage that has increased from 11% to 26% and states that they distrust the BBC is also significant. The distrust in the BBC primarily comes from the right wing, as per the report.