NBDSA orders Times Now Navbharat to take down ‘agenda-driven’ report on Assamese singer’s arrest

The News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority has directed Times Now Navbharat to remove sections of a programme about the arrest of Assamese singer Altaf Hussain in September 2024.

In its order on December 2, the news regulatory body noted that while covering the arrest, the anchor brought a “stereotype in respect of a particular community” and reported with a preconceived agenda.

The action came on a complaint by the human rights organisation Citizens for Justice and Peace.

Hussain was arrested on August 31, 2024, by the Assam Police for allegedly inciting hatred against the state's ethnic communities through a song that he released that month.

The song asked: “Does Assam belong to your father that you want to chase them out?” Singing in Assamese, Hussain had pointed out that although people of all communities commit crimes, only “Miyas” are targeted, referring to Bengali-origin Muslims in Assam who are often falsely accused of being undocumented immigrants.

After Hussain's arrest, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in a social media post that the people of the state would not tolerate attempts to alter Bihu songs.

“Some people are trying to popularise ‘Miya Bihu',” said Sharma. “One such singer, Altaf Hussain, has been arrested by the police today.”

In its complaint to the news regulatory body, Citizens for Justice and Peace said that the coverage of Hussain's arrest by Times Now Navbharat on September 2, 2024, had used the controversy over a protest song to construct a communal narrative.

The rights body alleged the anchor had presented a series of unconnected events as evidence of a wider conspiracy.

The anchor had also presented Hussain's song as “part of a nationwide conspiracy against Hindu culture – linking Assam, Kerala, and Kashmir in a manufactured war-like narrative”, read the complaint.

It added that the anchor had equated the term “Miya” with illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, misrepresenting an entire community.

The channel had denied all allegations, saying it was only reporting the arrest and the chief minister's remarks, and argued that claims made in the broadcast were factual.

On December 2, the news regulator found that while covering the arrest was “within the prerogative of the broadcaster”, the anchor “connects the song with an incident of rape, though there was no causal connection”.

“It seems the anchor had a particular agenda in mind and got this opportunity to build his narrative, bearing in mind the said agenda,” read the order.

It held that this violated its Code of Ethics and guidelines that bar generalisation, sensationalism and the vilification of any community.

Times Now Navbharat has been directed to remove all “offending portions” from the programme and submit a modified version within seven days.

Source: Scroll
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