BBC censors Sikh history in case it offends Muslims

Lord (Indarjit) Singh has been almost as permanent a fixture on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Thought for the Day’ as the Bishop of Leeds, Nick Baines. The BBC likes a certain sort of thought for the day, delivered by a certain sort of thinking person. If you hold a certain establishment status (like bishop or peer [or, preferably, both]) and they like the way you think, you can easily become a permanent fixture, featuring at least fortnightly, if not weekly, and pocketing £200 a time. If you don’t think in a certain sort of way or don’t hold a certain establishment status (Telegraph journalist, for example), you might still be invited by the BBC to deliver your thought for the day on Radio 4, but it won’t be entirely your thought: you will have been ‘assisted’ in the way you should think. If you incline toward a liberal-left ecumenical multi-faith disposition, your thought for the day will be just perfect. If you incline to the right or adhere to the rather more robust dogmata of your faith, your thought for the day will be ‘corrected’ before you are permitted to share it with the nation.

After years of having his texts tinkered with, Lord Singh has told the BBC’s where to go (and it wasn’t to Vaheguru’s Loutus Feet). The final straw was the BBC’s decision to censor Sikh history in case it might offend Muslims. That Sikh history happens to be factual history; it is world history. It is, in short, historical truth. But Lord Singh wasn’t permitted to refer to it because the only Sikh thought for the day which may be uttered is the kind of thought for the day which doesn’t offend Muslims. Ergo, the BBC ensures ‘Thought for the Day’ complies with the principles of Sharia.

The Times reports that Lord Singh has accused the corporation of “prejudice and intolerance” after they censored his reference to an executed Sikh Guru who had opposed the forced conversion of Hindus to Islam under the Mughal emperors of India in the 17th century. The Daily Mail helpfully explains:

Guru Tegh

Lord Singh’s thought for the day contained no criticism Islam or Muslims; he simply made reference to Guru Tegh Bahadur as an exemplar of religious liberty in an era of persecution. It is a matter of historic fact that Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb imposed Islam (and higher taxes) on Hindus, and their temples were demolished and turned into mosques. It is also a matter of historic fact that Guru Tegh Bahadur opposed the pogrom and refused to convert to Islam, for which he was beheaded.

Lord Singh is of the view that being unable to mention this historic aspect of his faith in case it might offend Muslims “is like saying to a Christian that he or she should not talk about Easter for fear of giving offence to the Jews”. He raised a complaint with the BBC which reached Director of Radio (and former Labour Culture Secretary) James Purnell (who thinks in a certain way). Mr Purnell rejected the complaint.

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