'Militants' not 'terrorists': Why BBC's reportage on Pahalgam terror attack drew strong reaction from India

Terrorists attacked a group of tourists in the Baisaran meadows of Pahalgam, in Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22

India has raised strong objections to the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) coverage of the recent Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir that claimed 26 lives and left several others injured.

According to PTI, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) communicated India's strong sentiments to Jackie Martin, BBC's India Head, via a letter.  “A formal letter has been sent to the BBC on terming terrorists as militants. The External Publicity Division of the MEA will be monitoring the reporting of the BBC,” an official was quoted as saying by PTI.

What happened in Pahalgam?

Terrorists attacked a group of tourists in the Baisaran meadows of Pahalgam, in Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22. It was the first major terror attack on civilians in Kashmir since the Centre ended J&K’s special status in 2019.

Why is India upset with the BBC?

India expressed strong disapproval of BBC’s coverage of the Pahalgam attack, particularly objecting to the description of terrorists as “militants”.

In the BBC's article "Pakistan suspends visas for Indians after deadly Kashmir attack" published last week, the British public service broadcaster reported: "Pakistan has responded with tit-for-tat measures against India as tensions soared following a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists."

A social media user flagged that the headline sounds misleading and wrongly portrays India as the killer. “Wow. BBC makes it sound like India killed Pakistani tourists in Pahalgam! How much lower can they fall,” the social media user posted on X.

The Indian government has also blocked 16 Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading provocative, communally sensitive, and misleading narratives against India, its Army, and security forces following the Pahalgam attack.

The blocked YouTube channels include: Dawn News, Irshad Bhatti, SAMAA TV, ARY NEWS, BOL NEWS, Raftar, The Pakistan Referenc, Geo News, Samaa Sports, GNN, Uzair Cricket, Umar Cheema Exclusive, Asma Shirazi, Muneeb Farooq, SUNO News, and Razi Naama.

Users trying to access these YouTube channels are being greeted with the following message: "This content is currently unavailable in this country because of an order from the government related to national security or public order."

This development comes days after the US Senate panel slammed  The New York Times for calling the Pahalgam terrorists "militants" in their reportage.

Following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, India announced a raft of punitive measures, including the suspension of the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty, closing of the Attari land-border crossing and the expulsion of Pakistani military attaches.

 BBC’s earlier controversy with India

In 2023, the Delhi High Court issued a notice to BBC. The notice was based on a suit filed by a Gujarat-based NGO, which alleged that the BBC’s documentary “India: The Modi Question” defamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian judiciary.

The two-part documentary focused on the 2002 Gujarat riots, when PM Modi served as the state's chief minister. The BJP Centre directed video-sharing platform YouTube to remove the documentary and asked Twitter to remove related posts. In February 2023, the Supreme Court rejected a public interest litigation that sought a ban on the BBC in India, calling the petition “completely misconceived”. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had also initiated a FEMA investigation against BBC India in April 2023.