Voluntary Regulator Cautions Zee, Times Now Navbharat Against Use of Word ‘Jihad’ in Broadcasts

New Delhi: After Zee News and Times Now Navbharat used the word jihad across three separate programmes to label incidents where Muslim individuals were accused of wrongdoing, a self-regulatory body has cautioned the broadcasters and directed them to remove the offending sections of those videos that are still up.

The News Broadcasters and Digital Standards Association (NBDSA) issued the three orders last week while adjudicating on complaints filed by one Utkarsh Mishra against the broadcasts dated October and December 2024, in which the terms ‘food jihad’, ‘thook [spit] jihad’ and ‘QR code jihad’ were used.

In the first of the broadcasts, aired on October 19, 2024, Mishra pointed out that Zee News, while covering allegations that a Kanpur restaurant labelled as a ‘veg corner’ served non-vegetarian food and that its Muslim owner sported a tilak to mislead customers about his identity, had used tickers reading ‘food jihad’ and asked whether the alleged activity ‘isn't a part of jihad’.

Although Zee said its coverage was meant to reflect certain political parties' use of the term jihad in connection with the allegations, NBDSA chairperson and retired Supreme Court Justice A.K. Sikri said in his February 17 order that “no such attribution was made during the broadcast” and that “it was not proper to frame the solitary and stray incident as a form of jihad without any supporting material”.

Zee, he added, “should exercise some restraint in giving such incidents a broader communal flavour … as these may cause communal disharmony”. The chairperson went on to “caution” the channel and “edit/remove the offending part of the broadcast” within seven days. It remains up on YouTube as of publication time.

Later in October 2024, Times Now Navbharat on the 23rd covered a purported video of a Muslim man spitting on rotis while baking them and said the incident constituted “thook jihad”.

Mishra had said per the NBDSA's February 17 order in the matter that “there is an evident trend whereby any act committed by a Muslim individual that appears potentially unlawful or where motives are subject to suspicion is being promoted as a form of jihad”.

Writing that this is a violation of the News Broadcasters and Digital Association's guidelines, Mishra was also cited as saying that the “overarching impact” of such allegations of ‘jihad’ “involves the targeting and discrimination of minority communities”.

Considering the two parties' submissions during a hearing in November 2025, Justice Sikri noted that Navbharat took down its video upon receiving Mishra's complaint and so ‘advised’ the broadcaster to “exercise caution in future broadcasts”.

Two months later, Zee News in another broadcast dated December 9, 2024 used the term ‘QR code jihad’ while reporting that a Muslim man who allegedly pretended to be a journalist was collecting donations for victims of the Sambhal riots, prompting Mishra to file a complaint.

He said the use of the word jihad would depict the matter “as part of a broader, orchestrated conspiracy involving an entire community” and that the broadcaster sought to “reinforce existing stereotypes against Muslims”.

The channel responded to Mishra's original complaint saying its programme was meant to “raise public awareness about the actions of this individual, who was exploiting a sensitive and volatile situation”, and that it used the term jihad in order to ‘accurate reflect’ its use “in the broader public discourse” by “several public figures, including politicians”.

However, Justice Sikri said that Zee had “no reason to invoke the term jihad”, which he said “has certain connotations and ramifications” and must not be used unless there are “strong reasons” to do so. Zee did not attribute the term ‘QR code jihad’ to any public figures, he noted, finding the broadcaster to have violated the “Specific Guidelines covering Reportage and the Code of Ethics & Broadcasting Standards”.

The chairperson “cautioned” Zee and directed it to remove the offending part of its programme in seven days' time. The broadcast remains available on YouTube as of press time.

The NBDSA, which enforces the News Broadcasters and Digital Association's voluntarily drawn Codes of Ethics & Broadcasting Standards as part of a self-regulatory mechanism, had late last year also said it was “imperative” for it to “lay down ‘Guidelines in respect of the usage of the term jihad’” in light of broadcasters' “increasing reliance on such terminology”.

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