BBC started in India as BBC India on 11 May 1940, the first show also operated on the same day. On this day Winston Churchill became the Prime Minister of Britain. The purpose of the BBC Hindustani Service was to bring news to the soldiers of the Indian subcontinent during World War II.
For the third consecutive day, the income tax survey on the news agency BBC continues. BBC has asked some of its editorial staff to work from the office and some to work from home.
The income tax survey has been going on for more than 48 hours, in the overnight search operation, the IT dept also seized the laptops and mobile phones of some of the staff members.
The Income Tax dept action is going on at BBC India’s Delhi and Mumbai offices. According to sources in the Income Tax department, the officials have visited the BBC office for verification for a survey.
Teams of Mumbai Police have also been deployed outside the premises in Mumbai to anyone from leaving or entering. It has also been learned that apart from Delhi and Mumbai ‘survey raids’ are being conducted in other parts of the country as well.
Also Read: Protesting Kashmiri Pandit Employees Detained In Jammu
The raids come close to the heels of the documentary released by the British broadcaster on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the 2002 Gujarat Riots. The documentary was swiftly blocked by the Indian govt invoking emergency powers under IT Rules.
The opposition claims that the action on BBC is motivated by revenge. Whereas BJP has slammed the opposition. BBC on its part has said that it is cooperating with the authorities. In this video today, let’s talk about what are the reasons given by the IT department for this “survey”? who all have issued statements in support and the broadcaster’s long tryst with controversy?.
The opposition has termed the income tax survey on BBC as a spirit of revenge. The Congress is calling it the time of destruction, opposite wisdom. But let us tell you who owns the BBC.
BBC– British Broadcasting Corporation is the national broadcaster of the United Kingdom. BBC is one of the oldest and largest media houses in the world. The BBC has around 35,000 employees around the world and broadcasts news in 40 languages.
About a century ago i.e. on 18 October 1922, it was started as a private company. But in 1926 it was made a government institution by the United Kingdom. Since then, the BBC has operated under a Royal Charter. Although it is completely independent in its coverage.
The purpose of the BBC is also written in the Royal Charter. According to this, ‘the BBC must provide accurate and fair news, current affairs and factual programming duly understood by people in all parts of the United Kingdom and around the world.’
BBC started in India as BBC India on 11 May 1940, the first show also operated on the same day. On this day Winston Churchill became the Prime Minister of Britain. The purpose of the BBC Hindustani Service was to bring news to the soldiers of the Indian subcontinent during World War II.
Be it the war of Bangladesh or the assassination of Indira Gandhi or any other big international event. On many occasions, the BBC was the first to report, which instilled public confidence. BBC Hindi.com started in 2001 and then other Indian languages were added.
Who funds the BBC:Â
Most of the BBC’s funding comes from an annual television fee. Apart from this, it also earns from its other companies, such as BBC Studios and BBC Studioworks. The Parliament of Britain also gives grants to it. In the year 2022, the company suffered a major setback when the British government announced a moratorium on annual television fees for the next two years. Not only this, but the government also said that by 2027 it will completely eliminate the fee.
Why did the Income Tax Department visit the BBC offices?
According to media reports quoting sources in the Income Tax Department, BBC is accused of irregularities in international tax. A survey is being done regarding this. Confirming this survey, BBC said that they are cooperating with the authorities and soon this situation will improve.
According to media reports, IT officers have shared some documents with BBC editors. They have been told that they can conduct the survey for three days.
The accounts of BBC are being probed. The staff from the accounts department is also being questioned. Computers and laptops are also being searched.
According to the information, the editorial team of BBC has not given access to the editorial material to the Income Tax Department.
According to a report in Jansatta, sources present in the BBC office said that when the IT officials started their survey in the BBC Delhi office, there was a confrontation between the editors and the officials of the IT department. The editors got into a verbal tussle with IT officials over the fact that they would conduct a survey of all systems at the BBC Delhi office.
BBC editors told IT executives that they would not give access to any editorial content on their systems. Sources said that IT officials found four keywords on the system including ‘shell company’, ‘fund transfer’, and ‘foreign transfer’ in the computers of the office staff.
Surveys at BBC offices may be conducted under various provisions of the IT Act, 1961 such as section 133A. This law gives the IT department the power of survey to collect hidden information. Under this, the official is allowed entry into any campus to check account information, documents, cash, stocks or other valuables.
The income tax survey on BBC is also linked to a BBC documentary by the opposition.
What was this documentary?
The BBC documentary ‘: The Modi Question’ questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role in the Gujarat riots was released in two parts. Its first episode was released on 17 January and the second episode on 24 January.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said on February 20 that in our opinion this is a propaganda piece. Its purpose is to present a kind of narrative, which people have already rejected. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also expressed his disagreement with this documentary in the British Parliament.
Before the second episode of the BBC documentary was released, the Modi government at the Center banned it on 21 January. Links to the BBC documentary were removed from YouTube and Twitter following an order issued by the central government.
Well, but this is not the first time BBC has found itself amid such controversy. In the 1970s, the BBC also had a falling out with Indira Gandhi. The then-French director Louis Malle published 2 documentaries Calcutta and Phantom India. Daily life in India was shown in both these documentaries. The Government of India termed it as a misrepresentation of India.
As soon as this documentary was published, the Indians settled in Britain and also opposed it. This voice of protest reached Delhi and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi came to know about it. Indira Gandhi got the Delhi office of BBC closed. Two years later in 1972, the BBC was on air once again.
In March 2015, the Delhi High Court upheld the decision to ban  BBC documentaries. Which, Mukesh Singh, convicted of Nirbhaya, was shown and hence it was banned from publishing on the internet.
In 2017, BBC released a documentary related to the hunting of wild animals. This had a deep impact on the image of India, after which the government decided to ban this documentary.
Who All Slammed IT Action?
The Editors’ Guild of India (NGO of journalists) has voiced its concern over the Income Tax surveys at BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai.
“The EGI is deeply concerned about the IT âsurveysâ being carried out at the offices of BBC India and Is distressed by the continuing trend of government agencies being used to intimidate and harass news organizations that are critical of the ruling establishment,” it tweeted.
EGI is deeply concerned about the IT âsurveysâ being carried out at the offices of BBC India. Is distressed by the continuing trend of government agencies being used to intimidate and harass news organisations that are critical of ruling establishment. pic.twitter.com/hM7ZkrdOiq
— Editors Guild of India (@IndEditorsGuild) February 14, 2023
Mumbai Press Club too extended support. “Media houses have been continuously attacked by the Union and some state governments for refusing to follow the government’s perspective, aimed at overawing and demoralizing them,” said the Press Club in a statement. Press Club of India and DIgipub, an association of digital-only publications too slammed the IT action BBC.
The Mumbai Press Club strongly condemns the Income-Tax Department raid at British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) premises in Delhi and Mumbai. The searches in BBC offices come weeks after the broadcaster aired a documentary on the Gujarat riots.#bbcindia pic.twitter.com/iqIW08SoEb
— Mumbai Press Club (@mumbaipressclub) February 15, 2023
DIGIPUB's statement on the Income Tax 'surveys' at the #BBC offices in India. pic.twitter.com/He0lysfbSn
— DIGIPUB News India Foundation (@DigipubIndia) February 14, 2023
The US state department on Tuesday avoided commenting directly on the income tax survey at the Delhi and Mumbai offices of the BBC but stressed how free media strengthens democracies everywhere including India.
Asked if the state department had any comment on âtax investigators raiding the BBC officeâ, spokesman Ned Price said: âWeâre aware of the search of the BBC offices in Delhi by Indian tax authorities. I would need to refer you to Indian authorities for the details of this search. Beyond this discrete action, what Iâll say more broadly is the general point that Iâve consistently made in this context but in the universal context as well.
âWe support the importance of free press around the world. We continue to highlight the importance of freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief as human rights that contribute to strengthening democracies around the world. It has strengthened this democracy here in this country; it has strengthened Indiaâs democracy. These universal rights are the bedrock of democracies around the world.â
When the reporter persisted, asking if the income tax action on the BBC went against what he had said on press freedom, Price again side-stepped: âI couldnât say. I couldnât say. Weâre aware that these â we are aware of the fact of the searches, but Iâm just not in a position to offer a judgement.â
At the White House briefing, spokesperson Karine JeanPierre also steered clear of commenting on whether the Presidentâs office had any reaction to the âdocumentary that the Indian Prime Minister censoredâ, which preceded the surveys. Her response was: âI donât have a reaction to that for you from here.”Reported The Guardian.Â
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
