Industry | 2010.03.11
Keeping the BBC Asian Network national | Nihal Arthanayake
The idea that breaking up the BBC Asian Network will better serve diverse communities is absurd
It is astonishing to me that in 2010 I am having to defend the existence of the BBC Asian Network, which now faces closure along with 6 Music as part of the strategic review announced by Mark Thompson this week. In a country that largely respects and celebrates diversity, the idea that the BBC would want to dismantle the Asian Network would seem as absurd as if it were to admit that it no longer considered the Asian community worth bothering about. It is now the largest ethnic minority community in the UK.
One of the primary arguments for the break-up of the network is that one station can no longer represent the diverse cultures whose roots lie in the subcontinent. Critics both in and outside the corporation contend that the BBC was misguided in the first place by setting up a station that could never appeal to so many cultures, languages and religions.
As someone whose job brings me daily conversation with dozens of members of that Asian public, I find that argument ridiculous. Every day I host the Asian Network phone-in, and for two hours we discuss subjects from the most traditional and religious, such as the bar on menstruating women from entering places of worship, to Asian takes on the most mainstream and popular topics – did, for example, EastEnders get its Muslim wedding right? Atheists, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs call in, young and old: far from being unable to cater to seemingly disparate communities, the network draws them together.
The network doesn\'t need lectures on what bonds Asians and what separates them. Bollywood, Pakistani pop and bhangra music unite all generations and socioeconomic backgrounds. Different religions and languages have often been intertwined over history. But whether it\'s mutual respect or enmity, the Asian network does not shy away from presenting anything.
And crucially it allows discussion of extremism and intolerance without the agenda-laden simplicity of tabloid headlines – offering the kind of debates that are so badly needed but are often difficult to conduct.
Music lovers have rightly championed the risk-taking and diversity of 6 Music. They might also like to consider that the Asian Network is the one place – other than my BBC Radio 1 show – where British Asian artists can have their music showcased.
And this shouldn\'t mean, as some put it, "ghettoising" talent. What the BBC should be seriously looking at is whether production staff and presenters feel like there can be movement for them across the BBC – to ensure that their talents are not defined by their ethnicity alone. There has been a history of tinkering with the Asian Network that has undermined its focus and led to a lack of morale, but just at the point where it has the strongest daytime line-up it has ever had – and is looking forward to re-engaging with, and increasing, its audience by providing a unique service – yet again the corporation seems to want to move the goalposts.
Perversely, the BBC Asian Network is now threatened with being weakened and diluted by an argument that stems from a certain political correctness. Stating that Asians are not a homogenous ethnic blob but a richness of cultures is correct. Absolutely. But the argument being made is that money is best spent by breaking up the network and allowing targeted programming to be done locally. This ignores the reality that Britain\'s different Asian communities are not simply separated geographically or regionally. Local is an attractive buzzword. But the connections are national. Until the details of the new plan are seen, I\'m yet to be convinced it can better serve the Asian audience than the current national network.
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/[...]ing-the-asian-network-national
