On Friday 12th February, Ofcom fined Khalsa Television Ltd. or KTV with £50,000 for broadcasting a music video and a discussion programme that was allegedly an indirect call for British Sikhs to commit violence and also contained a terror reference. Ofcom’s order appears after its findings dating back to February and November 2019.
It has demanded that KTV not repeat the music video or the discussion programme found in breach of its rules. The decision notes, “Ofcom has imposed financial penalties of £20,000 and £30,000 on Khalsa Television Limited in relation to its service KTV for failing to comply with our broadcasting rules. The £20,000 pounds penalty relates to a music video. The £30,000 pounds penalty relates to a discussion programme.”
Ofcom found that the programme provided a platform for several guests to express views which amounted to “indirect calls to action and were likely to encourage or incite the commission of crime or lead to disorder”.
It further noted, “Ofcom also found that it included a reference to the proscribed terrorist organisation the Babbar Khalsa, and which in our view could be taken as legitimising it and normalising its aims and actions in the eyes of viewers.”
In July 4, 7 and 9 in 2018, KTV broadcast a music video for a song called Bagga and Shera. Following its investigation, Ofcom found that the music video was an “indirect call to action for Sikhs living in the U.K. to commit violence, up to and including murder”. It appeared to be seeking to influence viewers by conveying a message to them or otherwise influencing their minds without their being aware, or fully aware, of what has occurred, which Ofcom found was in breach of its rules of the broadcast.
The discussion programme in question was aired live on March 30, 2019, as Panthak Masle. The music video in question contained an image of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, which Ofcom noted “emphasised the video’s narrative of advocating violent action against the Indian state”.
The discussion programme, being broadcast in Punjabi, meant Ofcom had to commission an English translation. It said that KTV was notified about the investigation and did not initially raise accuracy issues but later did, resulting in a second translation. It concluded that KTV failed to ensure that material which was “potentially highly offensive to viewers” was justified by the context and therefore in breach of its code. KTV describes itself as a channel airing a range of cultural, educational and entertaining programmes for audiences of all ages. It says it prides itself in being “completely independent, impartial and honest”.
