Indian TV network censured over Islamophobic “jihad” narrative
Media regulator said channel falsely linked isolated incident to Muslims, amplifying conspiracy rhetoric often used by Hindu extremist groups
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — An Indian television network owned by billionaire Gautam Adani, a close ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been censured for broadcasting an Islamophobic “jihad” conspiracy narrative that falsely linked an isolated incident to Muslims as a community.
India’s television news regulator News Broadcasting & Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) said NDTV violated broadcasting standards by using the term “thook jihad” during a December 2024 program about a viral video from the northern Indian city of Meerut in which a man was allegedly seen spitting on bread while preparing it.
The phrase combined the Urdu word “thook,” meaning spit, with “jihad,” an Islamic term frequently distorted by Hindu nationalist groups and sections of India’s media ecosystem to portray Muslims as conspirators or civilizational threats.
According to the NBDSA, the channel framed the case in a “generalized and stereotypical manner” and falsely suggested similar incidents were widespread despite presenting no evidence.
“The sweeping generalization of this incident as ‘thook jihad’ and the suggestion that this was not an isolated incident, but was a widespread occurrence, without substantiating the same, amounted to a violation of the Code of Conduct,” the regulator said in its May 19 order.
The complaint against the broadcaster was filed by advocate Utkarsh Mishra, who argued that attaching the word “jihad” to an isolated criminal allegation communalized the issue and vilified Muslims collectively.
The complaint also accused the channel of presenting the incident in a manner resembling a public prosecution rather than a factual news report, including airing what appeared to be an informal interrogation of the accused.
The ruling has renewed scrutiny of anti-Muslim propaganda narratives increasingly circulated through sections of Indian television media aligned with Hindu nationalist politics.
Over the past decade, terms such as “love jihad,” “land jihad,” “UPSC jihad” and “thook jihad” have become common in right-wing political discourse and television debates in India, often portraying ordinary Muslim behavior, employment, relationships or religious identity as part of organized conspiracies against Hindus.
Muslim activists and media watchdogs say such rhetoric has helped normalize Islamophobia in public life while contributing to suspicion, harassment and mob hostility against Muslims across the country.
We must take charge of our narrative. Research indicates that 92% of their Muslim coverage is negative. Help us change that.
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