New Delhi: Cablewallas help unauthorised channels to flood India’s airwaves Cocking a snook at regulatory authorities, cable operators in league with unscrupulous broadcasters are beaming several non-licensed TV channels into Indian households.
Peace TV, ARY Q TV, TV Maldives, Saudi TV are some of the prominent Islamic channels being illegally downlinked in India by cable operators though these are not in the permitted channels list of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.
As per I&B Ministry norms, all channels need to obtain downlinking permission from the Ministry to beam inside the country.
The Ministry has currently given permission to 454 channels for viewing in India and cable operators have to strictly adhere to this list of permitted channels. According to Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Acts and Rules, local police officers and district administration are the authorised officers to prevent any violations.
But violating all rules, most of the Islamic preaching channels, which have either rejected or not even applied to the I&B Ministry for downlinking, are televised by the cable operators across the country. Peace Urdu TV, promoted by Islamic Research Foundation, headed by Mumbai-born Zakir Naik, is being beamed by several cable operators in Delhi.
This channel is being uplinked from Dubai and illegally downlinked by cable operators allegedly by accepting payments from the channel agents.
The Pioneer emailed a letter to Peace TV on Monday, wanting to know if the channel had sought the Ministry’s permission to legalise its downlinking in India. But the channel did not respond.
Pakistan-based ARY Q TV, popularly known as Quran TV, is also illegally televised by cable operators in Delhi and other northern States. In southern States, the major illegal downlinked channels are Saudi TV and TV Maldives.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is the administrator of the Cable TV Networks Act, which has to be enforced by the District Magistrate, Sub-Divisional Magistrate and Commissioner of Police.
But there is a complete lack of coordination between the Central level administrative agencies and the State level enforcement units.
Taking advantage of the situation, agents of the TV channel companies carry out their modus operandi of illegal downlinking, mainly in Muslim-populated areas. These agents reportedly deliver set top boxes free of cost to cable operator for receiving signals and make some annual payment as carriage charges. In some cases, the local police officials are also allegedly getting a share in the deal.
- All channels need I&B Ministry's clearance for down linking
- Currently, 454 channels are permitted for downlinking in India
- Islamic preaching TV channels Peace Urdu TV, ARY Q TV, Saudi TV, TV Maldives have not yet obtained permission from I&B
- Cable TV Networks Act/Rules authorises District Magistrate, Commissioner of Police to prevent the illegal downlinking by cable operators
New Delhi: Information & Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni has written to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram about the unauthorised telecast of Islamic TV channels by cable operators in various parts of the country. This follows a report published by The Pioneer on September 23 that Islamic channels — like Peace TV and ARY Q TV — were being aired without permission by cable operators.
Talking to reporters on Friday, Soni said she would request all Chief Ministers to firmly implement cable regulatory legislations. "I recently wrote to the Home Minister to take serious note of this issue. Before that, I wrote to all Chief Ministers to take action against illegal downlinking of these TV channels. I urged the States to ensure that the cable regulatory legislation is implemented firmly" Soni said.
"I have received complaints that these channels are being shown in many parts of the country. The Home Minister has said that he will look into the issue," she added.
According to the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, district collectors and superintendents of police are designated authorised officers to prevent such violations. Cable operators are allowed to downlink only channels that are permitted by the I&B Ministry. At present, the Ministry has allowed 454 channels to be exhibited in India. But due to lack of coordination between the Central-State agencies, cable operators go for easy money by illegal downlinking.
Peace TV is promoted by the Islamic Research Foundation, headed by Mumbai-based Zakir Naik. This channel is uplinked from Dubai and illegally downlinked in India by cable operators who take ‘carriage fee’ from the channel’s agents. In most cases, cable operators share the money with local police for illegally beaming such channels.
Peace TV shows frequent messages by Islamic spiritual guru Zakir Naik urging the viewers to donate money to the Islamic Research Foundation’s account in the Islamic Bank of Britain. According to the revenue department officials, it is a clear case of Foreign Exchange Rules’ violation.
Another illegal channel, ARY Q TV, popularly known as Quran TV, is operating from Pakistan. Both channels are not on the list of I&B Ministry’s permitted channels for downlinking. These two are widely shown in Delhi and other parts of the country. In South India, cable operators also show the unlicensed Saudi TV and TV Maldives.
i read the all statement why we r watching any illegal chanels we have a zee salam . i live in haridwar past we watch q tv but now is baned is ok it has no illegal licence to brotcast in india .but i told many time to r cable opertor kindly so the zee salam but he not brodcast what i do
