The government on Sunday issued a clarification stating that no notices had been sent to TV channels for using an excessive amount of Urdu words whilst broadcasting daily news. The government’s press information unit further termed news reports claiming that ‘notices’ had been sent to Hindi media channels for excessive use of Urdu words in their broadcasts as “misleading”.
The Press Information Bureau (PIB) posted a fact check on social media platform X earlier today, where it said that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has forwarded a viewer’s complaint to the channels concerned under the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act.
What did PIB say?
PIB slammed the reports about the notice and said that the ministry had simply forwarded a viewer’s complaint to the relevant authority.
“It is being claimed in certain media reports and social media posts that MIB has issued notices to Hindi news channels for using excessive Urdu words in their broadcasts, and has directed them to appoint language experts. This claim is misleading as the ministry has only forwarded a viewer’s complaint to the concerned channels under the provisions of the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act,” PIB wrote on X.
According to the Act, a certain percentage of public grievances are forwarded to the persons concerned against whom a complaint has been received, an official told PTI.
How did these ‘fake’ reports come about?
PIB’s response comes amid several social media intermediaries claiming that the Ministry has asked the Hindi TV news channels to reduce the use of Urdu words in their broadcasts and switch to Hindi. These reports started circulating on social media platforms earlier this week.
Several social media posts also claimed that the alleged notice by the Ministry asked the news channels to appoint language experts to ensure the use of Hindi in the broadcasts. Even after the fact-check, some social media handles continue to spread information regarding the appointment of these apparent ‘language experts’.
(With inputs from agencies)