Yoga guru Ramdev has stirred controversy with his remarks warning people against what he termed “sharbat jihad,” drawing a parallel with “love jihad” and “vote jihad.”
In a video shared on the official Facebook page of Patanjali Products, Ramdev criticised a popular soft drink brand, accusing it of using profits to fund the construction of mosques.
“If you drink that sharbat, there will be masjids and madrasas made. But, if you drink Patanjali’s gulaab sharbat, then gurukuls, Acharyakulam, Patanjali University, and the Bharatiya Shiksha Board will be made,” he said in the video.
“Protect your family and innocent children from the poison of toilet cleaners being sold in the name of soft drinks and ‘Sharbat Jihad’,” the caption of the video states.
While he did not explicitly name the brand, several media outlets have reported that he was likely referring to Hamdard’s Rooh Afza. Ramdev further claimed that people were unknowingly consuming what he described as “toilet cleaners” in the form of soft drinks during the summer months, questioning their health value.
Netizens react
Netizens have reacted strongly to Ramdev’s ‘sharbat jihad’ comment. One user wrote, “Lagta hai Inka bhi dhang change ho gaya hai yah bhi rajniti mein jana chahte Hain tabhi to masjid madrase yad a rahe hain (looks like his ways have changed as well, and he wants to enter politics. That is why he is talking about mosques and madrasas)”.
Several users termed Patanjali products as fake. “Fake, uneducated baba, will make you fool, be careful his products have no food standard, sell your products on quality standards not on basis of religion,” one user wrote.
The Delhi High Court on April 22 observed that Ramdev’s purported remark on Hamdard’s Rooh Afza shook its conscience and was indefensible. Click here to read.
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