A clip of Suresh Chavhanke, the editor of Sudarshan News went viral this week online for a promo of the show, titled ‘UPSC Jihad’. The promo claimed to be an ‘exposé’ on Muslims clearing the UPSC exam and ‘infiltrating’ the executive. Terming Muslims "intruders" into the bureaucracy, he questioned how members of the community are clearing the prestigious civil services exam in large numbers. He referred to students of Jamia's Residential Coaching Academy as "Jihadis of Jamia" and created the hashtag UPSC_Jihad.
While the broadcast was stayed by the Delhi High Court after students of Jamia Millia Islamia approached the court, the Supreme Court refused to halt the show from being aired. Subsequently, a show was aired with Suresh Chavhakne playing the victim, reported Newslaundry. Two of the show’s sponsors were dairy cooperative Amul, and the Uttar Pradesh government.
Justice Navin Chawla has passed the interim on a plea filed through Adv Shadan Farasat seeking the prohibition of the proposed broadcast of a program titled “ #Bindas Bol” which is scheduled to be aired at 8 p.m. on 28.08.2020 in @SudarshanNewsTV @SureshChavhanke #UPSCJihad
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) August 28, 2020
Hours before #Delhi High Court stayed the @SudarshanNewsTV programme on entry of Muslims in civil services, #SupremeCourt had refused to grant a pre-broadcast ban order. SC was hearing a separate plea by a lawyer. @SureshChavhanke #SudarshanNews pic.twitter.com/s0srAeQaQt
— Utkarsh Anand (@utkarsh_aanand) August 28, 2020
The Newslaundry story was also picked up by Stop Funding Hate, an international group that engages with advertisers. Amul then began to trend online, with many questioning why the brand is funding a channel that is hateful.
. @Amul_Coop pays for hateful content on Sudarshan TV..
— | Arif Khan आरिफ़ खान | (@ArifKIndian) August 29, 2020
I will not use any amul product in future..
Lets stop funding hate.. pic.twitter.com/dMH4TxZWVX
Amul is promoting an accused rapist bigot's hate-mongering against India's minorities every evening! #BoycottAmul
— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) August 29, 2020
https://t.co/4PQzJNcLjF #Bloodlust TV #Suresh Chavhanke #Sudarshan News
Time to boycott @Amul_Coop. Its support to Islamophobia is nauseating! The brand is well within its right to sponsor bloodthirsty TV channels, we too are free to boycott Amul. What a fall from grace! #BoycottAmul
— Rifat Jawaid (@RifatJawaid) August 29, 2020
Utterly, butterly Islamophobic, @Amul_Coop#BoycottAmul
— Indias Muslims (@IndiasMuslims) August 29, 2020
CC: @Rssamul pic.twitter.com/g1ai1EUaSK
We are extremely sad to see what @Amul_Coop has been doing. Funding hate is equal to spreading hatred and it causes severe results in the long run.
— (@MH_S2020) August 29, 2020
Being an alert Indian, I am compelled to #BoycottAmul @WeIndiasMuslims pic.twitter.com/TXw7JKELbr
Newslaundry’s Executive Editor Manisha Pande said the point is to alert the brand in case they don’t know where their ad is being placed, and not to ban or boycott them.
Sudarshan News is right up there when it comes to promoting hate and a repeat offender.
— Manisha Pande (@MnshaP) August 30, 2020
The point, however, is not to boycott brands but to alert the brand in case they don't know where their ads are being placed — many have agencies doing the work for them.
“The point of our series is to get news consumers to engage with news and understand the news economy. Big Media is run entirely on ad money: government ads and corporate ads,” she said.
The point of our series is to get news consumers to engage with news and understand the news economy. Big Media is run entirely on ad money: government ads and corporate ads.
— Manisha Pande (@MnshaP) August 30, 2020
In the case of government ads, it's the taxpayers' money that's being spent.
On Friday, the Alumni Association of Jamia Millia Islamia (AAJMI) filed a police complaint against Chavhanke.
"We have called a meeting to discuss the next course of action against the TV channel for airing mala fide content. Every student of Jamia's Residential Coaching Academy who has cleared the UPSC exam should file an FIR against the channel for its hateful content," Najma Akhtar, Vice Chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia, told IANS.
She also said not many know that out of 30 students of Jamia's Residential Coaching Academy who have cleared the UPSC this year, almost 50% are non-Muslims.
On Thursday, Jamia Millia Islamia wrote to the Education Ministry, informing it about the issue and requesting it to take appropriate action.
"Sudarshan TV has not only tried to tarnish the image of the university and a particular community but that of the Union Public Service Commission too," Ahmed Azeem, Jamia Millia Islamia PRO said.
With IANS inputs