On January 29 (local time) members of the Indian diaspora in London staged a protest against BBC outside the media house’s headquarters over the documentary it released accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Gujarat Riots 2002 when he was Chief Minister of the state. The protesters stated that the narrative BBC tried to set could create tension between Indian Hindu and Muslim communities based in London. Similar protests took place in Manchester, Glasgow, New Castle and Birmingham.
Indian diaspora came out in large numbers on Sunday to protest against #BBC @BBCWorld ’s vile bias and vicious agenda against India and Hindus at several places across the UK.
— Kanchan Gupta 🇮🇳 (@KanchanGupta) January 30, 2023
This video is of the protest at BBC headquarters Broadcast House in London.https://t.co/qBEq6VrHTJ
India Today quoted retired Royal Mail worker Vinoo Bhai Sachari saying, “Why is the BBC wanting to create a problem between the Hindu and Muslim communities in the UK?” Sachari was among the protesters present outside BBC headquarters.
#WATCH | Indian diaspora lead protests against the BBC at their Headquarters in London’s Portland Place against BBC documentary on PM Modi pic.twitter.com/vqWT81YJZF
— ANI (@ANI) January 29, 2023
Another young Indian girl said, “The Media here in the UK is starting to pursue a very dangerous narrative for the UK community. This could endanger the Hindu community. We do not deserve this.”
Protest by the Indian Diaspora at BBC headquarters in London. The colonial mindset cannot dictate sovereign nations anymore. The BBC must shed off the ‘white man’s burden’ as the era of white superiority is long gone. We shall not take this anymore. #BBCDocumentary #BBC pic.twitter.com/SxRMg5s1JT
— Sidharth Yadav (@SidharthYadavIN) January 29, 2023
Another protester named Jay said, “The documentary is completely one-sided. They did not see both sides at all. They did not focus on why the riots started and how a train full of men, women and young children burned. There was no focus on the 300 to 400 Hindus who lost their lives. No mention at all of the 200 police officers who died.”
He added, “The BBC has been doing this for a number of years. We sat quietly. We never said anything, but enough is enough. We will stop paying our licence fee if this does not stop.”
Earlier, the Indian diaspora living in the United States, California, also staged a protest against the documentary. Around 50 members of the Indian community gathered and raised slogans against the media house, saying they “reject BBC’s sinister and biased documentary”.
Indian Govt banned BBC documentary
The Indian Government banned the two-part documentary released by BBC on Gujarat Riots 2002. While the Supreme Court has cleared then-CM Narendra Modi’s name in the riots, the media house accused him of not controlling the riots. Furthermore, the documentary tried to set the long-debunked narrative that the reason for the train burning in Godhra was unknown, which triggered the riots. However, it has been well established that the Muslim mob burnt the train resulting in the death of 58 pilgrims returning from Ayodhya, including women and children.
