At first I thought it was a parody, so awful were the production values. But Desi DNA, a programme on BBC 2, really was glorifying and celebrating a variety of Hindu and Islamic youth activists who campaign to reduce freedom of expression. It’s a perfectly valid point of view to believe that you have the right to object to art or advertising that you find offensive to your beliefs. But why didn’t the BBC give a voice to people (like yours truly) who think that in this society, artists and journalists have a right to offend. (Not an absolute or total right but certainly the presumption should be that in the right context you have a right to free expression). Yet this pathetic show with its appalling presenter, who pranced around in her Palestianian scarf as if it was a youth music show, didn’t even bother to query the religious bigotry of the interviewees. This was crap telly, crap journalism and an insult to anyone of intelligence of any faith or none. If we are going to build inter-faith bridges then it will be through allowing people to advocate their faith, to defend their beliefs but to enter in to real dialogue not this kind of sponsered propaganda for prejudice.
This one cries out for a vlog…
Indeed a vlog would be lovely, but sadly the BBC doesn’t put this show online. I would love people to judge for themselves about this show. I admit I get angry at Thought For The Day on Radio 4 so perhaps I am oversensitive to this kind of illiberal ideology. But what really distressed me was that the BBC allowed such an unthinking piece to be broadcast without any context or contradiction. The artists were virutally accused of being racist without being given any right of reply.