LONDON: A survey of the British Indian and Hindu community has found that many are experiencing prejudice owing to their misrepresentation in the UK media deriving from a “colonial” focus on “cows, curry and caste”
Fifty-nine per cent of survey participants said they had personally witnessed or experienced prejudice as a result of the British media reporting on Hindus and Hinduism and 79% said media reports on Hinduism had resulted in negative perceptions of British Indians.
Eighty-one per cent of respondents said that UK media reporting on India had directly led to negative perceptions of British Indians and 70% reported either witnessing or personally experiencing prejudice due to how the British media reports on India.
The nation wide survey was carried out among 2,061 respondents, by INSIGHT UK, an organisation that represents British Hindu and Indian communities.
Ninety-one per cent of British Indians and Hindus who took part in it said that reporting on India in the British media is not balanced and 89% said they feel the UK media lacks impartiality when it comes to reporting on matters pertaining to Hindus. The survey highlighted a particular distrust of the BBC.
Ninety per cent of respondents perceived the BBC as the most unreliable source of information concerning India and 91% found it the most biased against Hindus, followed by the Guardian. Both these media outlets have the highest number of complaints raised against them by the Hindu and Indian communities. Ninety-eight per cent of complainants were dissatisfied with the responses to their complaints, 86% of respondents said they do not support the TV licence fee, which funds the BBC. These concerns arose from biased reporting on issues relating to the British Hindu/Indian issues, the survey found, as well as under-representation.
Ninety-one per cent of respondents said they wanted to be called British Indian, British Hindu or simply Indian, in the UK media and not Asian or British Asian.
In their free text responses, respondents referred to being mistaken as Pakistani, experiencing hate on social media against Indians, and a focus in the UK media on “cows, curry and caste”. Some respondents recommended the UK media “remove its imperial and colonial hangover” and “use better sources and more Hindu representation”.
Fifty-nine per cent of survey participants said they had personally witnessed or experienced prejudice as a result of the British media reporting on Hindus and Hinduism and 79% said media reports on Hinduism had resulted in negative perceptions of British Indians.
Eighty-one per cent of respondents said that UK media reporting on India had directly led to negative perceptions of British Indians and 70% reported either witnessing or personally experiencing prejudice due to how the British media reports on India.
The nation wide survey was carried out among 2,061 respondents, by INSIGHT UK, an organisation that represents British Hindu and Indian communities.
Ninety-one per cent of British Indians and Hindus who took part in it said that reporting on India in the British media is not balanced and 89% said they feel the UK media lacks impartiality when it comes to reporting on matters pertaining to Hindus. The survey highlighted a particular distrust of the BBC.
Ninety per cent of respondents perceived the BBC as the most unreliable source of information concerning India and 91% found it the most biased against Hindus, followed by the Guardian. Both these media outlets have the highest number of complaints raised against them by the Hindu and Indian communities. Ninety-eight per cent of complainants were dissatisfied with the responses to their complaints, 86% of respondents said they do not support the TV licence fee, which funds the BBC. These concerns arose from biased reporting on issues relating to the British Hindu/Indian issues, the survey found, as well as under-representation.
Ninety-one per cent of respondents said they wanted to be called British Indian, British Hindu or simply Indian, in the UK media and not Asian or British Asian.
In their free text responses, respondents referred to being mistaken as Pakistani, experiencing hate on social media against Indians, and a focus in the UK media on “cows, curry and caste”. Some respondents recommended the UK media “remove its imperial and colonial hangover” and “use better sources and more Hindu representation”.