Published On: Sun, May 18th, 2014

BBC hosts sculptor who calls Narendra Modi a mass murderer

On 17 May 2014 on the BBC’s #Newsnight show that discussed Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi’s stupendous election victory in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, the Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor characterized Narendra Modi thus:

India has dreamed itself a dream with a mass murderer as its main character. 

Anish Kapoor is of course entitled to have his views but as a sculptor and a public figure of some standing, the least he could have done was to exercise restraint. But the bigger blame should lie squarely at the BBC’s door because it appears that the anchor of that #newsnight show did nothing to censure Anish.

As one of the world’s leading news organizations, the BBC is surely aware of the two main facts about Narendra Modi purely in the context of the #newsnight show.

1. The Supreme Court of India has exonerated Narendra Modi of any culpability in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

2. Narendra Modi has been duly elected by the people of India in free, fair, and transparent elections held in the world’s largest democracy.

It is clear that Anish Kapoor is contemptuous of the verdict of the highest court of India. It is also clear that Anish Kapoor has abused all Indians only because they chose to elect Narendra Modi out of their own free will.

And by not censuring Anish Kapoor, it appears that the BBC tacitly endorses Anish Kapoor’s abuse. Ian Katz (Twitter: @iankatz1000) editor of the BBC #Newsnight show must clarify whether Anish Kapoor’s characterization of Narendra Modi as a mass murderer is also the official view of the BBC about Narendra Modi.

As a platform for restoring decency in public discourse, IndiaFacts calls upon the Indian people to boycott the BBC. If you are on Twitter, please use the hashtag: #boycottBBC and link to this piece.

About the Author

- Sankrant Sanu is an entrepreneur, author and researcher based in Seattle and Gurgaon. His essays in the book "Invading the Sacred" contested Western academic writing on Hinduism. He is a graduate of IIT Kanpur and the University of Texas and holds six technology patents. His latest book is "The English Medium Myth." He blogs at sankrant.org .


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  1. Manoj says:

    Aneesh Kapoor has in the past 3-4 years lead several anti-Modi protests, including the one against British Labour Party for inviting Modi to UK, an appeal to US to block his visa, and finally an open letter (published by BBC and Guardian) calling on people to not vote for Modi.

    So this interview was ‘fixed’ as it is BBC’s views that went on air. Aneesh kapoor, Anjana Banerjee and Arundhati Roy are some of the paid-up sepoys who say anything their white masters would love to hear, all the while posing as artists and activists. What have they done for any of those whose causes they so lovingly espouse now? Zilch.

  2. Rajul sharma says:

    BBC the mouthpiece of British government calls NaMo a mass murderer.
    They seem to be still living in colonial age .But must understand that The Sun had set long ago on the peanut sized island.
    Isn’t it ironic that they belittle a Democracy of a billion but have nothing to say on draconian civil rights offenders like Saudi Arabia & China?????????

  3. V.S.Dave says:

    Why do we give any importance to BBC ? Is it Indian News channel ? Now with thumping majority of Shree Narendra Modi, we All Indians learn to come out from this literally slavery. Let world say anything, we believe in our judgment and go by that. Why should we give any platform to any sycophant to get into lime light even through negative remarks?

  4. From today, I am boycotting BBC.

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