NDTV shows black screen to protest ban on ‘India’s Daughter’

In a kind of media protest against government gags not seen by India since Indira Gandhi's Emergency rule of 1975, the widely-watched news channel NDTV went blank for an hour from 9pm to 10pm on Sunday to protest the ban on the airing of the BBC documentary 'India's Daughter'.

The channel instead featured a black screen with 'diya' (lamp) in protest against the Indian government's ban on any kind of broadcast of the documentary, based on the murderous gang-rape of a woman in the government's seat of Delhi in 2012. The documentary was scheduled to air on NDTV between 9 pm and 10 pm.

Instead, the network ran a slate referring to the film's title along with the lamp during the hour-long slot.

The film features an interview with one of the men convicted of the Delhi bus rape, as well as other harrowing details. It was outlawed by the Indian authorities on the grounds of "objectionable content" (See: India furious as BBC airs gang-rape documentary in UK).

Most commentators agree that the ban has done more harm to India's image than the showing of the documentary has done. In fact it has gone viral on websites despite the government's ham-handed efforts to control BBC content.

Explaining NDTV's decision not to broadcast an alternative show during the slot, editorial director Sonia Singh said in a tweet, "We won't shout, but we will be heard."

The documentary, which was premiered in the UK on 4 March, will be screened in countries across the globe - including Switzerland, Norway and Canada - to mark International Women's Day (See: Meryl Streep to attend US premiere of India's Daughter today).