Acting on a complaint filed by activists Indrajeet Ghorpade and Utkarsh Mishra, the News Broadcasters & Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) has ordered five television news channels to take down broadcasts from last year in which they had claimed that NCERT textbooks were promoting ‘Love Jihad’.
The controversy erupted from a letter printed in an outdated Class III EVS NCERT book in a chapter called ‘Chitti Aayi Hai’ (letter has arrived). A woman named Reena was shown to have written a letter addressed to a man named Ahmed. This was apparently seen as an attempt to promote ‘Love Jihad’ by some parents who raised a complaint. The channels — India TV, News18 MP Chhattisgarh, Zee Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh, Zee News and ABP News — promoted their views.
‘Love Jihad’ is a conspiracy theory peddled by Hindutva groups which claims that Muslim men trap Hindu women into romantic/spousal relationships with the motive to convert them into Islam.
Noting that the programme structures ‘showed a lack of objectivity’, the NBDSA order dated December 3, 2025, directed the broadcasters to take down the videos within seven days.
The complainants noted the contents of the videos violated ‘fundamental principle number 4 of the Code of Ethics and Broadcasting Standards and Specific Guidelines for Anchors’. This principle, as enumerated in the said guidelines, says, “Broadcasters shall, in particular, ensure that they do not select news for the purpose of either promoting or hindering either side of any controversial public issue. News shall not be selected or designed to promote any particular belief, opinion or desires of any interest group”.
The activists also alleged that the platforming of individuals expressing their subjective opinions and making unverified claims violated the principles of neutrality and objectivity, as well as clauses 1, 2 and 3 of the ‘Guidelines to Prevent Communal Colour in Reporting Crime, Riots, Rumours, and Related Incidents‘. These clauses state:
1. In broadcasting the commission of crime etc., it must be borne in mind that any communal colour to it has no relevance and, therefore, any reference to the community of the accused corrodes our secular fabric.
This story was originally published in altnews.in. Read the full story here.
