Bbc Radio 4's Smear Campaign On Sikhs

[THE WARRIOR]

All you Lawyer guys if there are any on SikhSangat is there any chance of any legal action being taken like the WSO did in Canada , eg: Slander and so on?????????

You have to be careful with that only because if the accused is going to be held liable but is able to produce evidence which backs up his claim although we may think its false propaganda one could argue that the resource was used in good faith and as tangible evidence this is what happened when people complained about the Channel Four documentary that showed Sikhs during partition in a very negative light. Unfortunately there is much baseless evidence; you only have to look at some of the stuff that gets posted here that reflects the mentality of a very small minority. The problem is that they portray themselves to be the voice and mouthpiece of the majority this has tarnished the reputation of the wider community by creating a very comfortable stereotype for an uneducated audience.

The core of the problem and fuel for this situation is if you are pro-khalistani you’re a terrorist, fanatic if you’re anti you’re a Indian government sympathiser Hindu lover etc etc this system of thinking is really our own creation we have contributed more to this then any one else externally, if you really sit back and look at it I think you may be able to see what I’m talking about. The problem being egos are so inflated on both sides that very few are willing to find middle ground and very few are willing to work together and even fewer recognise this as a problem that they want to address.

There is an argument for and against that can be debated in an educated manner and I’m pretty sure it would be more fruitful then what has happened in recent history with all the animosity the elders had for one another just being handed down to the younger generation. Fundamentally a change in backwater mentality to an educated cutting edge one debunks those like in this situation who are manipulating the scenario to suit their own agendas…the question is who will put their hand out first as a sign of collaboration?

[anom7]

we dunt need no lawers

just grab a gundasa lol

[Hardeep__singh]

This is outrageous and got me fuming, hunt the guys who do this and teach the a lesson........

I have written a comment on the SKy news, and its utter rubbish saying we are terrorists, the guy, the report, that <admin-profanity filter activated>**** amardeep should be taught lesson...

Could people also complain to the Press Complaints Commision as the Sun Newspaper published the same crap here

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article846177.ece

Fill in the form here

http://www.pcc.org.uk/complaints/form.html?

Also did a quick google an english forums have picked up the news as well

http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:qyHb0...lient=firefox-a

To add insult to injury THE BBC PLAN TO REPEAT THE PROGRAMME THIS COMMING SUNDAY,SO THE PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T HEAR THE LIES NOW WILL ALSO HEAR THE LIES.

We can already see how English forums and other groups have picked up on the story ,what is our next course of action?

IS THERE WAY OF STOPPING THE PROGRAMME TO BE AIRED SUNDAY!!!!

[Muzumdar]

Proactive

I didn't take your comments personally. The correct term for people like Bassey, Hundal etc is Monai. By no stretch of the imagination can such people be termed Sehajdhari especially as their agenda seems to be to scaremonger amongst the general community in order to advance their careers. If you have a look at Bassey's previous work on the R4G campaign, Hundal's 'asian media' website then you will realise that calling them Sehajdhari is the same as calling KPS Gill a Gursikh!

OK I understand where you are coming from now. But, and I hate to be a pedant, terminology is extremely important. For a random person looking at this website your comment can easily be construed as being indicative of chest thumping religiosity - even though you have explained that it isn’t. In a nutshell: I think ‘mona’ is the incorrect term for these people. It has too many religious connotations.

You see, we must engage these people on their level with words and turns of phrases that everyone in society – Sikh and otherwise – can understand and appreciate. The words that immediately spring to mind when thinking of clowns like Hundal is ‘unemployed economist’, ‘opportunist’, ‘lame polemicist’, ‘liberal’, ‘poor man’s VS Naipaul’ and so on. Let’s leave the ‘mona’ thing out of it, if you don’t mind.

Also, I am well aware of Hundal, Bassey et al. But are they really worth getting pent up about?

A blog, TV station, newspaper etc lives and dies by its ratings and readership. They thrive on controversy, its reaction and the ensuing debate.

Leave his blog to fester and don’t give it the hits he so craves. Similarly, let the BBC do what they have to, I don’t particularly care for their documentaries or their Muslim appeasing agenda – quite frankly, we have bigger fish to fry (female infanticide, drug problems, assimilation, Gurdwara restructuring etc etc etc). Imbeciles like Sunny Hundal are nobodies trying to become somebodies. Don’t help him by giving him the oxygen of publicity he so craves.

I apologise for going off on a tangent and I don’t mean to single you out brother.

Guru Rakha.

[rupinder singh]

All you Lawyer guys if there are any on SikhSangat is there any chance of any legal action being taken like the WSO did in Canada , eg: Slander and so on?????????

You have to be careful with that only because if the accused is going to be held liable but is able to produce evidence which backs up his claim although we may think its false propaganda one could argue that the resource was used in good faith and as tangible evidence this is what happened when people complained about the Channel Four documentary that showed Sikhs during partition in a very negative light. Unfortunately there is much baseless evidence; you only have to look at some of the stuff that gets posted here that reflects the mentality of a very small minority. The problem is that they portray themselves to be the voice and mouthpiece of the majority this has tarnished the reputation of the wider community by creating a very comfortable stereotype for an uneducated audience.

The core of the problem and fuel for this situation is if you are pro-khalistani you’re a terrorist, fanatic if you’re anti you’re a Indian government sympathiser Hindu lover etc etc this system of thinking is really our own creation we have contributed more to this then any one else externally, if you really sit back and look at it I think you may be able to see what I’m talking about. The problem being egos are so inflated on both sides that very few are willing to find middle ground and very few are willing to work together and even fewer recognise this as a problem that they want to address.

There is an argument for and against that can be debated in an educated manner and I’m pretty sure it would be more fruitful then what has happened in recent history with all the animosity the elders had for one another just being handed down to the younger generation. Fundamentally a change in backwater mentality to an educated cutting edge one debunks those like in this situation who are manipulating the scenario to suit their own agendas…the question is who will put their hand out first as a sign of collaboration?

Very wise summary!

[rupinder singh]

Proactive

I didn't take your comments personally. The correct term for people like Bassey, Hundal etc is Monai. By no stretch of the imagination can such people be termed Sehajdhari especially as their agenda seems to be to scaremonger amongst the general community in order to advance their careers. If you have a look at Bassey's previous work on the R4G campaign, Hundal's 'asian media' website then you will realise that calling them Sehajdhari is the same as calling KPS Gill a Gursikh!

OK I understand where you are coming from now. But, and I hate to be a pedant, terminology is extremely important. For a random person looking at this website your comment can easily be construed as being indicative of chest thumping religiosity - even though you have explained that it isn’t. In a nutshell: I think ‘mona’ is the incorrect term for these people. It has too many religious connotations.

You see, we must engage these people on their level with words and turns of phrases that everyone in society – Sikh and otherwise – can understand and appreciate. The words that immediately spring to mind when thinking of clowns like Hundal is ‘unemployed economist’, ‘opportunist’, ‘lame polemicist’, ‘liberal’, ‘poor man’s VS Naipaul’ and so on. Let’s leave the ‘mona’ thing out of it, if you don’t mind.

Also, I am well aware of Hundal, Bassey et al. But are they really worth getting pent up about?

A blog, TV station, newspaper etc lives and dies by its ratings and readership. They thrive on controversy, its reaction and the ensuing debate.

Leave his blog to fester and don’t give it the hits he so craves. Similarly, let the BBC do what they have to, I don’t particularly care for their documentaries or their Muslim appeasing agenda – quite frankly, we have bigger fish to fry (female infanticide, drug problems, assimilation, Gurdwara restructuring etc etc etc). Imbeciles like Sunny Hundal are nobodies trying to become somebodies. Don’t help him by giving him the oxygen of publicity he so craves.

I apologise for going off on a tangent and I don’t mean to single you out brother.

Guru Rakha.

Muzumdar

Another great post. It is refreshing to see that we have such thinkers as yourself, pro-active and the warrior who are able to effectively communicate their points accross. Effective communication skills are something the Sikh community are currently lacking. It's almost predictable that everything eventually ends up in a "tu tu main main" argument!!

[chani111]

the program sounds like its been planed to out give out an anti-sikh message

[lsingh]

To make a complaint to the BBC, as the programme is to be repeated on Sunday.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/

Programme details

BBC Radio 4

Sikh extremism: Tuesday 26 February 2008, 2000 GMT, repeated Sunday 2 March 2008, 1700 GMT.

Reporter Armadeep Bassey, Producer: David Lewis. Editor: David Ross.

[SaRpAnCh]

Any ideas on any ways to stop SUNDAYS REBROADCASTING of the programme??

And where is the Sikh Federation???? Cmon

[proactive]

Muzumdar,

I see your point. Unfortunately the Sikh community is caught in a catch 22 situation. If we make a fuss and start a campaign then the programme as well as media outlet gets publicity which as you correctly pointed out is it's lifeblood. But equally if we decide to ignore the programme then what we get is a perception in the media that Sikhs are an easy target and then we will get open season on us. The media is very aware of the repercussions that ensue when it decides to make a programme on a particular topic. This is shown by the way the whole British media did not show the Mohammed cartoons. A majority of the media is made up of left wing liberal nutcases who contrary to their assertions of being the defenders of freedom of speech are prone to giving in if they think that they may get hurt if they carry on. Obviously this isn't the way for Sikhs to react but that was just a example of what the media is. What is needed is an organisation similar to the Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK. Although that organisation is Islamist in nature but they are young and articulate and have virtually taken over from the 'usual suspects' like the MCB as the people that the media go to for reactions regarding any Muslim issues that are the news of the day.