(CHAKRA) BBC News website posted a short video on March 29 under its “week’s weird videos” in “Newsbeat’s odd box” showing youth playing Holi in Utah (USA) and titled the segment as “Filthy festival”.
Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that terming the “festival of color” celebrated by Hindus and others worldwide as “filthy” was very insensitive and belittling of the entire community.
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, stated that BBC Director-General Mark Thompson and Trustees Chairman Lord Patten of Barnes should immediately apologize for this inappropriate terminology and hurting the feelings of one billion Hindus and publish it on BBC website.
Rajan Zed pointed out that although under its “our values”, BBC claimed “we respect each other and celebrate our diversity”, but describing a festival of world’s oldest religion as “filthy” was highly “disrespectful”. Was calling Holi “filthy” BBC’s way of educating and informing the world correctly; whose “mission” was listed as: “to enrich people’s lives with programmes and services that inform, educate and entertain”? Zed asked.
Founded in 1922, headquartered in Westminster London, and established under the Royal Charter; world’s largest broadcaster BBC (autonomous public service broadcaster) has been blamed in the past for racism, imperialist stance, Indophobic bias, anti-Hindu bigotry, anti-American bias, etc. Helen Boaden is Director of BBC News and Diane Coyle is Trustees Vice Chairman.
Joie de vivre festival of Holi welcomes the beginning of spring and starts about ten days before the full moon of Phalguna. The ceremonies include the lighting of the bonfires, during which all evils are symbolically burnt. Holi also commemorates the frolics of youthful Lord Krishna; celebrates the death of demoness Putana, burning of demoness Holika, and destruction of Kama by Shiva. Holi fell on March eight this year.
Webster’s New World Dictionary describes “filthy” as “full of filth, disgustingly foul; grossly obscene; morally vicious or corrupt”.
Hinduism is the third largest religion of the world and moksha (liberation) is its ultimate goal.
It is preposterous how such a renowned establishment such as the BBC allow unintelligible and insensitive expletives such as these be expressed?
It certainly shows that the BBC is in not in tandem with the ethos of ‘celebrating diversity.’
Please allow sensitivity and understanding of another culture. If you do not understand it, stay out of it, would be my advice.