Zee News, Times Now Navbharat found involved in Islamophobic ‘Mehendi Jihad’ coverage
New Delhi: India’s News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) has found Zee News and Times Now Navbharat guilty of violating its Code of Ethics by airing Islamophobic and misleading programmes promoting the fabricated “Mehendi Jihad” and “Love Jihad” conspiracy theories.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the rulings came after media researcher Indrajeet Ghorpade lodged formal complaints accusing the channels of spreading anti-Muslim hate speech and misinformation aimed at demonising India’s Muslim community.
NBDSA determined that Zee News had breached ethical journalism standards by telecasting segments alleging that Muslim mehendi artists were targeting Hindu women for religious conversion. The channel’s broadcasts carried sensational headlines such as “Mehendi Jihad par de dana-dan” and repeated unverified claims that Muslim artists were “spitting into mehendi” or luring Hindu clients into conversion plots. The reports lacked factual basis, verification, or any counterview, and were further amplified through inflammatory rhetoric and boycott calls against Muslim artisans.
Similarly, Times Now Navbharat was pulled up for biased reporting in a case from Uttar Pradesh involving a Muslim man, Mohammed Aalim, who was sentenced to life imprisonment under the so-called “Love Jihad” narrative. The channel echoed a local judge’s communal remarks while ignoring the woman’s court testimony that she had been coerced by her parents and right-wing groups to file a false complaint.
Although the NBDSA directed both networks to remove the objectionable videos and issued formal admonishments, critics including Ghorpade condemned the lenient response as ineffective. He argued that the authority’s reluctance to impose monetary penalties upto INR 25 lakh effectively shields hate-based media practices.
“This weak form of self-regulation allows hate propaganda to thrive,” Ghorpade said, adding that Hindutva-aligned media, judiciary, and regulatory bodies were “collectively protecting communal narratives.” He urged journalists and civil society to demand independent media oversight mechanisms to combat the growing normalization of Islamophobia in India’s mainstream media landscape.
