Even Jesus Christ himself wouldn’t get past the BBC’s Thought Police today
He’s quit Thought For The Day after 35 years in a row over censorship. Now Britain’s best-known Sikh says
THERE was a time when broadcasting Thought For The Day on Radio 4 was both a pleasure and a privilege. So, it is with real sadness that after 35 years, I have decided I can no longer continue. During that time my contributions, steeped in my Sikh faith, have been appreciated by people of all religions and from all walks of life in many different countries.
Giving a lecture in Estonia, I was introduced by the British ambassador as ‘ the man who brought Guru Nanak[ the founder of Sikhism] to the breakfast tables of Britain’.
My very first talk on Thought For The Day, a humorous reflection on irrational prejudice, is still used as a teaching aid in schools.
But in recent years I, along with several other experienced contributors, have been dismayed by the politically correct constraints increasingly placed upon us.
The demand for ‘sensitivity’ in talking about religious, political or social issues has been taken to quite absurd levels, while the regular insistence on trivial textual changes right up to the moment we walk into the studio makes it difficult to say anything worthwhile.
One colleague complains that the BBC ‘Thought Police’ are finding problems with scripts where there are no issues at all, and I’m sorry to say that I share that view.
Where once Thought For The Day aimed to make an ethical contribution to the discussion of social and political issues, now it is a recital of religious platitudes.
Avoidance of controversy is the main aim, with success measured by the absence of complaints.
Today, I believe that Guru Nanak and Jesus Christ himself – who bravely raised social concerns while stressing tolerance and respect–would be allowed nowhere near the Thought For The Day studio.
My concerns came to a head last November, with an attempt to prevent me from broadcasting a script relating to a central event in Sikh history. My proposed talk had been about the martyrdom of a founding Sikh Guru, who gave his life upholding an absolute Sikh commitment – that all people should have freedom of belief.
GURU Teg Bahadhur, the ninth Guru, was martyred defending Hindus against the Mughal Emperor’s policy of forced conversion in the 17th Century. The Guru’s death occupies a similar position in Sikh teachings to Easter in Christianity, and his example has been applauded by Dr Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, as a moving example of selfless sacrifice valued by people of all faiths.
Yet the BBC told to me that discussing this historical episode – which involved a bigoted Muslim ruler more than 300 years ago – might inexplicably upset some Muslims now. I was appalled.
The script had already been agreed with her colleagues when the senior producer arbitrarily, and without discussion, declared she would not allow it to be broadcast, even though it contained no criticism of Islam whatsoever.
It was like saying to a Christian that he should not talk about Easter for fear of giving offence to the Jews and others living at the time. It was quite ludicrous hypersensitivity to possible criticism. When I questioned her and pointed out that we were discussing a central event in Sikh history, I was told I that had spoken about the Guru’s martyrdom before! By the same nonsensical logic, we should stay silent about the stories of Easter and Christmas, because we’ve already discussed them in the years gone by.
I responded that I would rather the slot was left empty than have Sikh teachings insulted in this way and the following morning, the senior producer reluctantly agreed that I could go ahead.
The way that I – and my faith – had been treated, however, left me with no choice but to raise my concerns – informally – with the Director General of the BBC.
Things did not improve. I found that the number of my Thought For The Day slots was reduced and the pressure grew.
In May of this year, after another script – this time expressing Sikh concerns about the worldwide persecution of Christians – had already been agreed, I received a message that I had to vacate the slot because the senior producer wanted to get someone else to talk about a different topic.
Had I offended some mysterious BBC guidelines by showing concern over the suffering of those following a sister faith? It is hard to say. In the event, the programme was unable to get anyone to talk about the substitute topic and, once again, I was grudgingly allowed to go ahead.
When I first complained about the attempt to censor the martyrdom of Guru Teg Bahadhur in November, the programme makers had said they would like me to carry on as before, but insisted that the senior producer must retain her right of censorship. While this was far from ideal, I continued to fill the slot from time to time and my concerns led James Purnell, the corporation’s director of radio, to order an official review. But when it finally became clear just a few days ago that the BBC was refusing to budge on this question of censorship, I decided it was time to go.
Many well- wishers talk of the need for an official apology, but I don’t feel this would help. It is not a personal matter. Rather, it is the values of free speech, tolerance and respect for the views of others that are under attack by those – in the BBC and elsewhere – who feel that their narrow view of society should unquestioningly be accepted by all.
Sadly, this reluctance to listen to others is spreading across society, notably in the Brexit debate.
WE SEE this, too, in polarised attitudes towards religion and when terms like ‘ Islamophobia’ are used to stifle legitimate discussion. In interfaith meetings, well-meaning people from different faiths gather together to talk about the ills in society, yet the actual teachings of our different faiths are rarely discussed. Absurdly, they are judged to be too sensitive.
Religions tell us how to live our lives, how we are connected to our very being – so of course they must be open to questioning. And in the process, we can undertake a little spring cleaning to remove outdated history, unnecessary preoccupations with past conflicts and anachronistic social practices.
Only then will the essence of these faiths, and the ethical teachings they often hold in common, be seen as a force for good rather than a cause of division.
I am leaving Thought For The Day with great reluctance.
But I can no longer accept prejudiced and intolerant attempts by the BBC to silence Sikh teachings on tolerance, freedom of belief and on the duty we all must share to build a more cohesive and responsible society.
The values of free speech, tolerance and respect for the views of others are under attack