Suresh Chavhanke, infamous for making Islamophobic comments was speaking at an event organised by Sanatan Sanstha in association with the Centre’s Ministry of Culture and Delhi’s Tourism Department
NEW DELHI — Framing Muslims as a demographic threat and promoting a majoritarian population agenda, a Hindutva journalist has urged Hindus to have more children and called for bringing down the Muslim population.
Suresh Chavhanke, chairman, managing director and the editor-in-chief of Sudarshan News, a Hindutva-aligned television channel, said the government must bring down the Muslim population. Exhorting the Hindus to produce more children, he said: “If you can’t do it, ask your friends and relatives to do it.”
Chavhanke, infamous for making Islamophobic comments and presenting rabid anti-Muslim programmes on his channel, was speaking at a recent event organised by Sanatan Sanstha in association with the Centre’s Ministry of Culture and Delhi’s Tourism Department.
The association of government departments with the event has drawn criticism, with activists and observers warning that hate speech is being legitimised through state-linked platforms. Neither the Culture Ministry nor the Delhi government has responded to the remarks so far.
Chavhanke also advocated for a “Hindu Rashtra” and made derogatory remarks about Muslims, including deporting 25% of India’s Muslims. His speech included statements like “Ban four marriages and multiple children for Muslims” and “Those who are too old to have children should tell their children and servants to have children”. He also encouraged the audience to take an oath for establishing a Hindu nation, saying “If taking the oath of Hindu Rashtra is a crime, then we’ll take it again and again”.
Union ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Shripad Naik and Sanjay Seth as well as Delhi Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra also spoke at the event.
Chavhanke has a history of making inflammatory statements, including referring to Muslim-majority areas as “mini-Pakistan” and “no-go zones”, and spreading conspiracy theories about “love jihad” and “land jihad”. He has also faced backlash for his derogatory remarks against the LGBTQ+ community and for praising Myanmar’s controversial expulsion of Rohingyas. These actions have led to complaints being filed against him with the National Commission for Minorities and the Maharashtra State Election Commission.
