BBC Apologises for ‘Incomplete’ India Map after complaint
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London, January 20: After facing the backlash on social media, the reputed and most famous British Broadcasting Corporation finally issued an apology for showing an incomplete Indian map.
This comes after the reputed channel displayed the graphic depicts the incomplete India map with the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir missing. This incident occurred during a video broadcast about President-elect Joe Biden on BBC World Service titled 'US Election 2020: What do countries around the world want from Joe Biden'.
This mistake irked Indian origin and British MP Virendra Sharma. Following which they slammed BBC for showing the incomplete map of India and termed the action as “deeply insulting”. He then wrote the letter to the BBC DG and asked him to withdraw the map and republish it with the correct geographical boundaries. He also called for an explanation of the editorial guidelines followed.
I am very disappointed by the map used by the @bbcworldservice that shows an incomplete India.
— Virendra Sharma MP (@VirendraSharma) January 18, 2021
As the Chair of the India APPG I have written to the BBC DG asking for this map to be immediately withdrawn and editorial guidance issued to ensure it doesn't happen again. pic.twitter.com/TLmBWv1Qm1
"This map shows an incomplete India, it does not highlight Jammu and Kashmir which is recognised as a core and integral part of India. To represent Jammu and Kashmir as anything less than Indian is deeply insulting to millions of Indians living here in the UK and India," read his letter, issued on Monday.
"The BBC World Service is a fantastic resource, an amazing part of our soft-power and a real force for good around the world, this record is under threat if the World Service is perceived as partisan and ‘anti-India’ as is currently being asserted online. As a member of the International Development Select Committee, I have seen the great work the World Service can do, I do not want to see that put at risk," added Sharma, who represents the heavily Indian diaspora constituency of Ealing-Southall in west London
Following this, BBC apologies and updated the online broadcast with the map of India reflecting the boundaries of Jammu and Kashmir in the standard format used by the news channel in the UK.
"From London, we mistakenly published a map of India online which contained inaccuracies and is not the standard map used by BBC News. It has now been corrected. We apologise for any offense caused," a BBC spokesperson said.