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NDTV Runs A Blank Screen For An Hour To Protest Ban On BBC Documentary India's Daughter

NDTV Ran A Blank Screen For An Hour To Protest Ban On 'India's Daughter'
BBC

Popular Indian news channel NDTV stopped their programming for one hour on Sunday evening, protesting the ban on Leslee Udwin's controversial BBC documentary India's Daughter.

The channel ran a blank screen showcasing the title of the documentary and a flickering lamp, during the hour-long slot when it should have aired.

We won't Shout but we will be Heard @SharmaKadambini: #IndiasDaughters

9pm to 10pm pic.twitter.com/UKfqtTImL7

— sonia singh (@soniandtv) March 8, 2015

Last week, the ministry of information and broadcasting had issued an advisory to all television channels asking them to not telecast the documentary about the brutal gangrape of a medical student in Delhi in December 2012.

Udwin's documentary features an interview with Mukesh Singh, one of four men sentenced to death for the rape and torture of a 23-year-old woman on a moving bus in December 2012. Comments released to the media show that Singh blames the victim for the crime. He says that women are more responsible than men for rape.

Singh's comments caused an uproar on social media and reignited a debate about gender inequality in Asia's third-largest economy.

“The Indian government is inviting the world to point fingers at India, and call it undemocratic and unconstitutional,” The Hindu quoted Udwin as saying. "Why are they doing this? Why are they intent on committing international suicide," she added.

NDTV's gesture triggered a positive response on social platforms.

A silence that spoke volumes. Loud and clear.

#Impressed

Thanks #NDTV

From #IndiasDaughter Team

- pic.twitter.com/rvpo2drTMq

— Dibang (@dibang) March 8, 2015

.@ndtv With this silence you've reached many more eyes and ears than ban wanted smothered. Smart subtle brave. #IndiasDaughters@ndtvindia

— Sankarshan Thakur (@SankarshanT) March 8, 2015

Bravo #NDTV! The most eloquent protest agnst the suppression of free speech in India ever seen post-Emergency. Bravo! @ndtv#IndiasDaughter

— Anna MM Vetticad (@annavetticad) March 8, 2015

This is the most effective protest in the history of Indian news tv. Solidarity #Ndtv.

— nikhil wagle (@waglenikhil) March 8, 2015

Well done @ndtv : excellent silent protest #IndiasDaughter ban must be revoked.

— bhupendra chaubey (@bhupendrachaube) March 8, 2015

NDTV's silence tonight sends out the loudest message of all - is the government listening? We need safety and the rule of law,not censorship

— Maya Mirchandani (@maya206) March 8, 2015

A report in the Scroll rightly pointed out, the NDTV strategy reminded many of the policy adopted by newspapers protesting press censorship during the Emergency.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.