Monday, March 9, 2015

Indian TV news channel NDTV, banned from showing rape documentary, goes dark with an hour long title card and reactions.

 

On Sunday night, the Indian news channel NDTV (DStv 413) seen in South Africa on MultiChoice's DStv suddenly went dark in an on-air protest over being banned and censored from showing a documentary about rape.

NDTV, banned from showing the documentary India's Daughters, decided to show the static words: "NDTV India's Daughters" for a full hour on the channel together with an oil wicker lamp used in Hindu ceremonies, running underneath it the text of people's reactions who have seen it already on the internet, as well as the words: "One rape every 20 minutes".

NDTV planned to show the powerful rape documentary, but made as powerful a global impact to highlight the problem with rape in India after the Indian government last week banned the rape documentary because the parliament voted that it would "damage India's reputation abroad".

India's Daughters is a documentary film about the gang rape of a student in December 2012, with the BBC as co-producer, and directed by Leslee Udwin.

"This harrowing documentary, made with the full support and cooperation of the victim's parents, provides a revealing insight into a horrific crime that sent shock waves around the world and led to protests across India demanding changes in attitudes towards women," says the BBC in a statement.

"The film handles the issue responsibly, and we are confident the program fully complies with our editorial guidelines".