By TCN News
Delhi: About 250 academics have appealed to the Press Council of India and the Broadcast Association to take necessary action against Zee News for carrying a negative campaign against well-known academicians.
Over the past week, Nivedita Menon — a feminist political scientist, writer, and translator — and most recently, Gauhar Raza — scientist, poet, film maker– have been labeled as ‘desh drohi’ ‘anti-national’ by the channel. Gauhar Raza, was portrayed as part of what it terms in derogatory and unethical language the ‘Afzal-loving poets’ gang’.
The statement, which also asked Zee News to apologise over the matter, said, “In both cases, decontextualised video clippings of these individuals’ appearances in public events have been aired and their names repeatedly flashed through evening bulletins.”
“Singling out of individuals and creating a mass-frenzy against them, using the medium of TV is a dangerous trend. Zee TV initiated this defamatory exercise in the case of the students of the JNU also, and these doctored videos have become the basis of arrest and harassment of Kanhaiya, Umar and Anirban,” the statement said.
“We call upon the Press Council of India and the Broadcast Association to take note of this criminality and initiate necessary action against the channel. We also appeal to the governments of Delhi and the centre to initiate criminal proceeding against the channel for putting a citizen’s life under threat,” the statemtnt added.