South Africa: Hindu group seeks more screen-time for Hindu shows on SABC

A Hindu organisation in South Africa has appealed to the country's national public broadcaster to increase screen-time for Hindu-based programming, as per reports.

The South African Hindu Dharma Sabha wrote to the South African Broadcasting Corporation on 6 April 2023 to reinstate a programme titled 'Sadhana' with new content. The appeal came after the SABC announced that it would bring new content on only one of its two weekly Hindu programmes. The other Hindu devotional programme titled "Aum", is being repeated for the past three years now, he said.

“SAHDS is a highly respected, national Hindu religious and cultural organisation including all linguistic and denominational groups. (It) is a mass-based, grass-roots, inclusive, democratic, performance-driven, developmental, progressive and caring organisation,” the group said in an open letter to senior officials of SABC and the parliament urging them to increase the coverage of Hindu-based programmes.

It appealed to Indian businesses to support the programme through advertising. “We duly note that while programmes, including cultural and religious content, might not make profits or revenues, we fit in as part of the public mandate,” the letter said.

It also proposed that 10 am be the starting time and not 7:30 am as is the current schedule.

(With PTI inputs)