New Delhi: Yoga guru Ramdev has sparked a new controversy by coining the term “sharbat jihad” in a viral video. In this video, he alleges that a company selling sharbat is utilizing its profits to construct mosques and madrasas, while he promotes Patanjali’s rose sharbat.
The video was posted on Facebook by ‘Patanjali Products’ with a caption in Hindi that translates to, “Safeguard your family and innocent children from the harmful effects of toilet cleaner disguised as ‘sharbat jihad’ and soft drinks. Only bring home Patanjali sharbat and juices.”
In the video, Ramdev criticizes soft drinks, equating them to toilet cleaners that people consume in the name of quenching their thirst during the summer months. He describes this situation as an “attack” and likens it to a type of poison.
“During the summer, individuals consume cold beverages that are essentially akin to toilet cleaners. On one hand, there is the threat of this toilet-cleaner-like poison, and on the other, a company selling sharbat that uses its earnings to build mosques and madrasas. That is acceptable; it is their faith,” Ramdev states in the video.
He suggests that consuming this particular sharbat—presumably referring to Hamdard’s Rooh Afza—contributes to the funding of mosques and madrasas, whereas opting for Patanjali’s rose sharbat, he claims, supports gurukuls, Acharyakulam, Patanjali University, and the Bharatiya Shiksha Board.
Ramdev introduces the term “sharbat jihad,” drawing parallels to “love jihad” and “vote jihad,” and urges people to protect themselves from it.
