Jaspreet Kaur, a British Sikh, began hosting Asian Network Chill’ weekly at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) earlier this month.
Jaspreet Kaur, a British Sikh anchor, who recently joined the network, has drawn the ire of Indian diaspora in the United Kingdom (UK) for her alleged “pro-Khalistan separatist views”. Several complaints have been sent to the BBC against Kaur by British Indians, asking the network to address the situation and investigate the new host of their weekly show ‘Asian Network Chill’.
Jaspreet Kaur, a published author, teacher, and a poet, began hosting Asian Network Chill’ weekly at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) earlier this month.
“Taking time to chill, whatever that might mean for you, is so important,” Kaur said in a statement on social media, announcing her new role at the public broadcaster.
“As an author, poet, teacher and new mum, I know how hard it can be to slow down. But hopefully if you catch my new Chill Show, you’ll feel inspired to step back, slow down, be present and more mindful. I’ll be exploring interesting new ways to look after our wellbeing whilst listening to the best soothing tunes,” Kaur said on X.
‘Separatist views’
Following her announcement, people started digging up her old social media posts– some dating back a few years– and those were circulated among Indian diaspora networks, raising concerns over her alleged separatist views and triggering complaints to the country’s public broadcaster, which many complainants pointed out is funded by British taxpayers and operates through license fees.
“I must bring to your attention the fact that your organisation is hiring extremists as presenter. Jaspreet is well known in the Sikh community as being a Khalistani, a far-right position within the Sikh community. For example, in her Twitter post she openly hashtags Khalistan,” reads a complaint addressed to the BBC’s new Indian-origin chair Samir Shah.
“I’m shocked that the BBC would hire somebody who holds such extremist views,” states another complaint, calling for an investigation against Kaur.
BBC responds
Responding to the complaints against the Sikh host, the BBC in a statement asserted that while all its presenters are subject to guidance on sharing personal views publicly, the social media post being referenced to in the complaints, dates back many years before Kaur became a presenter on the show.
“We aren’t going to comment on individuals or indeed individual tweets. We do investigate any complaints made and discuss issues that arise with presenters as necessary,” a BBC spokesperson said.
BBC social media guidelines
Last year, the BBC had undertaken a review of its social media guidelines after a row over football pundit Gary Lineker’s social media posts attacking the government’s immigration policies.
Its new guidance states: “The overriding principle of this guidance is that anyone working for the BBC is a representative of the organisation, both offline and also when online, including on social media.
“While the requirements for impartiality may differ, everyone working for the BBC has the same responsibility to respect high standards of civility in public discourse and to not bring the BBC into disrepute.”
(With PTI inputs)
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