There is a demand to start a 24-hour Sindhi language channel on Doordarshan. A petition was filed in the Supreme Court regarding this, which was heard on Monday. In its decision, the SC refused to give any such instructions to the Central Government. The bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra dismissed the petition challenging the order of the Delhi High Court. This petition was made on behalf of non-governmental organization (NGO) Sindhi Sangat. The top court said that there could be other ways to preserve the language.
Senior advocate Indira Jaisingh, appearing for the NGO, said that one way to preserve the language is public broadcasting. The High Court had on May 27 rejected the NGO’s plea, which it had challenged in the apex court. The NGO had said in its petition that Prasar Bharati’s decision of not starting a 24-hour Sindhi language channel was based on discrimination. Therefore the HC decision should be cancelled.
What did the High Court say in its decision
The High Court had said in its order that the petitioner NGO wants to start a 24-hour Sindhi channel on Doordarshan. In this regard, he has been unable to convince the Center about his legal or constitutional right to give instructions and his petition was unreasonable. The petitioner had said that Section 12(2)(d) of the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act, 1990 imposes the responsibility on Prasar Bharati to provide adequate coverage to the diverse cultures and languages of different regions.
‘Full time channel not practical’
Prasar Bharati, in its reply, said that as per the then census, the population of Sindhi speaking people in the country was around 26 lakh and a full-time channel was not practical. The court had said, ‘It is stated that respondent number-2 (Prasar Bharati) in the discharge of its duty is duly telecasting programs in Sindhi language on its DD Girnar, DD Rajasthan and DD Sahyadri channels. Which covers the areas where Sindhi population is mainly concentrated, i.e.- Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. The High Court had said that it was pointed out that these channels are available across the country and are also broadcast on the DTH-1 platform.
