The BBC has issued an apology, claiming it has amended its mistake after the broadcasting service displayed an incomplete map of India during a show with the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir missing. This incident occurred during a video broadcast about President-elect Joe Biden on BBC World Service titled 'US Election 2020: What do countries around the world want from Joe Biden'.
The BBC’s apology follows after a formal letter of complaint by Labour MP Virendra Sharma. The MP for Ealing Southall, who is also chair of the Indo-British All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), termed the incident as "deeply insulting" in his letter addressed to the Director General of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Tim Davie, and called for an explanation of the editorial guidelines followed.
In his letter Virendra Sharma MP said, "To represent Jammu and Kashmir as anything less than Indian is deeply insulting to millions of Indians living here in the UK and in India. The BBC World Service is a fantastic resource, an amazing part of our soft-power and a real force for good around the world, this record is under threat if the World Service is perceived as partisan and ‘anti-India’ as is currently being asserted online. As a member of the International Development Select Committee, I have seen the great work the World Service can do, I do not want to see that put at risk.
“That this graphic is withdrawn and republished with correct boundaries, and that action is taken to prevent this happening again. I would also like to know what editorial guidelines exist on this, and for you to ensure that they represent the situation fairly and responsibly with Jammu and Kashmir as a fundamental and integral part of India."
The BBC responded with an apology and updated the online broadcast with the map of India reflecting the boundaries of Jammu and Kashmir in the standard format used by the news channel in the UK. "From London we mistakenly published a map of India online which contained inaccuracies and is not the standard map used by BBC News. It has now been corrected. We apologise for any offence caused," a BBC spokesperson said.
