The controversial Yoga guru says a company selling sharbat (Hamdard’s Rooh Afza) uses the earned money to build mosques and madrasas
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – Baba Ramdev, the controversial Yoga guru-cum-entrepreneur and founding owner of Patanjali Ayurved, has come under fire for using the term “sharbat jihad” claiming that a company selling sharbat is using its earnings to build mosques and madrasas.
Ramdev, with a history of several brushes with the law, made the incendiary remark as he sought to promote Patanjali’s Rose Sharbat in a video. The video, posted by Ramdev’s company on its Facebook account on 3 April, has come in for severe criticism from many quarters.
Sharing the video, Patanjali wrote “Protect your family and innocent children from the poison of toilet cleaner being sold under the name of ‘sharbat jihad’ and cold drinks. Bring home only Patanjali sharbat and juices.”
Ramdev is seen in the video targeting soft drinks, claiming they are like toilet cleaners being consumed in the name of quenching thirst during summer. He refers to this as an “attack” and compares it to a form of poison.
“In the name of quenching thirst during summers, people drink cold beverages that are basically toilet cleaners. On one side, there’s the attack of toilet-cleaner-like poison, and on the other, there’s a company selling sharbat, which uses the money earned from it to build mosques and madrasas. That’s fine, it’s their religion,” Ramdev says in the video.
He claimed that drinking that company’s sharbat — referring to noted brand Hamdard’s Rooh Afza — helps fund the construction of mosques and madrasas, while choosing Patanjali’s rose sharbat, he claims, supports gurukuls, Acharyakulam, Patanjali University, and the Bharatiya Shiksha Board.
Describing this as “sharbat jihad”, Ramdev likens it to “love jihad” and “vote jihad”, and says people must protect themselves from it.
“But if you drink that sharbat, it supports the construction of mosques and madrasas. On the other hand, if you drink Patanjali’s Rose Sharbat, it supports the setting up of gurukuls, Acharyakulam, Patanjali University, and the Bharatiya Shiksha Board. That’s why I say, just like there is love jihad and vote jihad, there is also sharbat jihad. So, you must protect yourself from this sharbat jihad,” Ramdev adds.
The Facebook video has attracted over 37 million views, with one user commenting, “His business is slowing down, that’s why he has launched a new product.”
Baba Ramdev’s ‘Sharbat Jihad’ remark has sparked widespread criticism, with many accusing him of using Islamophobia as a marketing strategy. The controversy has raised questions about the role of influential figures in shaping public opinion and divisive rhetoric.
Prominent fact-checker Mohammed Zubair said that the Yoga guru is playing communal cards to sell his low-quality sharbat.
“Sharbat Jihad? Lala Ramdev is now selling his low-quality Patanjali Sharbat by playing the Hindu-Muslim card. He knows that’s the only way to fool Indians. The same Ramdev sold his Patanjali products in the Middle East by obtaining Halal Certification for some of its products, particularly those intended for export to Gulf countries,” he said.
A social media user, Charu Yadav, called for a boycott of Patanjali products in response to spreading hate and lies through Ramdev’s rhetoric.
“Hindu Muslim rhetorics are now being used even to sell the products!! Lala Ramdev is so poisonous that he is spreading poison in society. Secular people, you will have to boycott every product made with Patanjali written on it. This Baba Ramdev’s poison shop should be closed. He keeps spreading lies and hatred openly in the society,” said Yadav.
Some users also pointed out the irony of using Arabic words like “Gulab” and “Sharbat” by Ramdev while insinuating Islamophobia.
Cases against Patanjali
Patanjali faces numerous cases in various courts, particularly in Kerala, for violating the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954. The company has been accused of making unsubstantiated claims about its products, including promises to cure diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and COVID-19.
The Supreme Court has also been critical of Patanjali’s advertising practices, directing the company to remove misleading ads and suspend the sale of certain products whose licenses were revoked by the Uttarakhand government
Further, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had ordered the recall of a batch of Patanjali’s red chili powder due to non-compliance with safety regulations.
