UK media watchdog penalises Khalsa TV with inciting violence and terror reference

The United Kingdom's television regulator Ofcom has imposed a penalty of £50,000 (Rs. 50 lakh) on Khalsa TV for violating the country's broadcasting rules. Khalsa TV has been fined over the broadcasting of a music video and a discussion programme that "indirectly" called on British Sikh living in the UK to commit violence. For the music video song called Bagga and Shera, Khalsa TV has been fined £20,000, while the live discussion programme Panthak Masle fetched the channel a penalty of £30,000. 

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"Ofcom found that the music video was an indirect call to action for Sikhs living in the UK to commit violence, up to and including murder. It also included brief flashes, which, when slowed down, revealed frames of on-screen text. It appeared, therefore, 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," Ofcom said about the music video.  

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"Ofcom found that this 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 a crime or lead to disorder. 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," Ofcom said about the discussion programme. 

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Ofcom directs Khalsa TV to broadcast findings

The British television watchdog has asked Khalsa TV to broadcast a statement of Ofcom’s findings on its channel on a date and time of Ofcom's choosing. Ofcom has directed Khalsa TV to not repeat the music video or the discussion programme again. The music video was broadcasted by Khalsa TV on July 4, 7, and 9 in 2018, while the live discussion programme was aired on March 30, 2019. 

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