UNITED SIKHS Complains to BBC Trust for Offensive Cartoon

“The (Sikh) community finds the animation not only offensive but also highly irresponsible of the BBC.  Sikhs who wear the turban are commonly victims of mockery and discrimination which includes the bullying of turbaned schoolchildren, due to no other reason than their appearance and ignorance of what it represents. Rather than attempting to improve understanding of the Sikhs and Sikh identity among the general public, animations such as this could serve to exacerbate such problems faced by Sikhs,”  Mejindarpal Kaur, Legal Director of the UNITED SIKHS, said in the complaint letter to the BBC.

London, UK – UNITED SIKHS this week sent a complaint to the Chairman of the BBC Trust regarding the offensive portrayal of the Sikh identity in the BBC3 programme, ‘World’s Craziest Fools’.

The opening sequence of the program, a short cartoon, features a turbaned and bearded man, unmistakably representing a Sikh, while completely nude.

In Sikhism the Turban is considered to be the ‘crown of spirituality, the form of a Sikh with a turban and uncut beard represents the form of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth Guru himself.

UNITED SIKHS has requested from the BBC an apology and withdrawal of the sequence from any future broadcast of the programme and urged a full investigation of this sequence.

“The programme depicts the Sikh character as an object of mockery; the Sikh appearance is linked with stupidity and crass behaviour.  Being the only character in the clip given any religious identity, the Sikh community felt that they in particular were being targeted,” Mejindarpal Kaur, UNITED SIKHS legal Director, said in her complaint.

UNITED SIKHS were alerted about this humiliating portrayal of the Sikh identity through complaints from deeply offended Sikhs.

The lack of positive representation of Sikhs in the BBC both through documentaries and use of Sikhs in comparison to other faiths is visibly apparent. The UNITED SIKHS complaint, also copied to the National Community Tension Team (NCTT) an organisation set up by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), asks whether the BBC will ‘produce specific positive documentaries on the Sikh faith and increase the number of visible Sikhs shown on its programing in a positive light to dispel the negative stereotypes encouraged by this animation’.  To read the complaint letter to the BBC click here

Previously, in October 2009, a BBC news report had also deeply offended the Sikh community through the inappropriate use of the Khanda and references to the Sikh religion while covering a crime totally unrelated to the faith.  You may read the press release issued by UNITED SIKHS on this issue here: https://unitedsikhs.org/sikhs-complain-to-bbc-trust-for-misuse-of-sikh-insignia/

Issued by:
Rishipal Singh
Director
UNITED SIKHS
Law-uk@unitedsikhs.org
+44 8701993328