Sudarshan News is an Indian

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

news channel News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or telev ...

. It was founded in 2005 by Suresh Chavhanke, the chairman and

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

. Chavhanke is a long-term member of the

Hindutva Hindutva (; ) is a Far-right politics, far-right political ideology encompassing the cultural justification of Hindu nationalism and the belief in establishing Hindu hegemony within India. The political ideology was formulated by Vinayak Da ...

organisation

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS,, ) is an Indian right-wing politics, right-wing, Hindutva, Hindu nationalist volunteer paramilitary organisation. It is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar ( ...

(RSS), and had worked as a reporter of the pro-RSS newspaper ''

Tarun Bharat ''Tarun Bharat'' ("Young India") is a Marathi newspaper based in Belagavi, India. It is the seventh-largest-selling Marathi daily newspaper in the country. The paper has eight editions from locations in North Karnataka (Belagavi), Southern Mah ...

''. He held several posts in the RSS before becoming a full-time reporter. He launched Sudarshan News in 2005 in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

and later shifted it to

Noida Noida (), short for New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (ISO: ), is a city located in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. As per provisional reports of Census of India, the population of Noida in 2011 was ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

. He is currently the chairman, managing director and editor-in-chief of Sudarshan News and hosts its flagship TV show ''Bindas Bol''. Chavhanke was also associated with the

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) is a student organization in India, registered as a Non-governmental organization (NGO) in 1949. It's a significant student union with over 5 million members, making it one of the largest student or ...

, the student wing of RSS. He asserts that he practices ideology-driven journalism and prefers that the news programs on his channel be viewed as opinionated campaigns. In August 2021, a 26 year old reporter from the channel, Manish Kumar Singh, was kidnapped and murdered in Bihar's

East Champaran East Champaran or Purvi Champaran is an administrative district in the Tirhut division of the state of Bihar in India. The district headquarter is located at Motihari. Prior to 1971, there was a single Champaran District. On 1 December 1971, ...

district. The police arrested three suspects out of which two were journalists, namely Amarendra Kumar and Mohammed Arshad Alam. Police sources said that they suspect a personal dispute to be the cause behind the murder. However the victim's father alleged the murder to be linked to Singh's journalism. In May 2024, another journalist from the channel, Ashutosh Srivastava was shot dead in Jaunpur,

. According to his family, the killing was linked to his coverage of the alleged slaughter of cows in the area. The channel has been widely criticised for blatant

anti-Muslim Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or hatred against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. Islamophobia is primarily a form of religious or cultural bigotry; and people who harbour such sentiments often stereot ...

communal broadcasting and has been considered to be a part of pro-

Modi government The premiership of Narendra Modi began 26 May 2014 with his First swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi, swearing-in as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. He succeeded Manmohan Singh of the Indian N ...

news outlets in India dubbed the "

Godi media Godi media (; ; idiomatic equivalent: 'lapdog media') is a term coined and popularised by veteran Indian journalist Ravish Kumar to describe biased Indian print and TV news media, which has openly supported the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party g ...

Reception

In April 2017, Chavhanke was arrested for allegedly inciting communal hatred through multiple episodes of a flagship program. He secured bail two days later. In 2020,

Hemant Soren Hemant Soren (born 10 August 1975) is an Indian politician who is serving as the current Chief Minister of Jharkhand since 4 July 2024. He previously held the office from 2019 to 2024 and from 2013 to 2014. He is also the president of the Jhark ...

, the

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

, ordered state police to take action against Chavhanke for this

hate speech Hate speech is a term with varied meaning and has no single, consistent definition. It is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as ...

. Chavhanke claims to have contributed towards the ochlocratic atmosphere that led to police complaints and death threats against

M. F. Husain Maqbool Fida Husain (17 September 1915 – 9 June 2011) was an Indian painter and film director who painted Narrative painting, narrative paintings in a modified Cubism, Cubist style. He was one of the founding members of Bombay Progressiv ...

for allegedly violating Hindu sentiments. As a result, Husain left India on a self-imposed exile until his death. In April 2017, Chavhanke was booked and later arrested for inciting communal hatred between the Hindus and Muslimsts of

had registerecomplaint against ''Bindas Bol'', hosted by Chavhanke and had alleged that it aired programmes that promoted communal disharmony and hostility between religious groups. Subsequently, Chavhanke was booked under various IPC sections and section 16 of the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act, 1955 was also invoked. After being released on

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Court bail may be offered to secure the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when ...

, he claimed that it was an attempt to "suppress and intimidate media". In June 2018, the Delhi Minorities Commission issued a notice to the channel after it broadcast a program that claimed a Muslim-dominated region was inhabited by illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators. On September 2020, ''Bindas Bol'' hosted by Chavhanke aired a conspiracy theory suggesting that Muslim students were "infiltrating" administrative services terming it " UPSC

jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...

"; became viral. It was heavily condemned, including by former senior bureaucrats, judges, and the Home Minister. Broadcast of the actual TV programme was stayed by the

Delhi High Court The High Court of Delhi ( Hindustani: दिल्ली उच्च न्यायालय; ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') is the high court in Delhi, India. It was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966. ...

and the matter is ''sub-judice''. The show claimed that Muslims were systematically "infiltrating" India's civil services, suggesting that Muslim candidates received undue advantages in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examinations. These assertions were based on misleading data and unverified claims, including allegations of preferential treatment and undue benefits for Muslim aspirants. The program faced widespread condemnation for promoting communal disharmony and spreading

misinformation Misinformation is incorrect or misleading information. Misinformation and disinformation are not interchangeable terms: misinformation can exist with or without specific malicious intent, whereas disinformation is distinct in that the information ...

. Critics highlighted that the content was offensive and had the potential to promote communal attitudes. In response, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued a caution to Sudarshan News, advising the channel to be more careful in the future and warning of stricter penal action in case of further violations. 91 retired Civil servants filed case against him claiming that his programme contains derogatory statements about the Muslim community and was divisive in nature, and the programme was paused by

Allahabad High Court Allahabad High Court, officially known as High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, is the high court based in the city of Prayagraj, formerly known as Allahabad, that has jurisdiction over the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established o ...

on 1 September 2020. The

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...

also intervened, expressing concerns over the show's content and temporarily restraining the channel from airing further episodes. The court described the program as "insidious" and emphasized the need to balance

freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...

with the responsibility to prevent communal discord.

Fake news

On multiple occasions, Sudarshan News was found to be spreading

fake news Fake news or information disorder is false or misleading information (misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, and hoaxes) claiming the aesthetics and legitimacy of news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person ...

. In 2019, the channel broadcast an old video, which was morphed with slogans calling for the killings of RSS workers. In 2014, fake quotes were attributed to

Shahrukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood" and "King Khan", he has appeared in more th ...

by the news channel. During the Delhi riots of 2020, the channel was found to be spreading communally charged fake news. In March 2019, a

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

district court ordered the channel to pay a compensation of to Malabar Gold in a defamation suit, after it broadcast edited visuals alleging the company of having celebrated Pakistani Independence Day.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sudarshan News Hindi-language television channels in India Television channels and stations established in 2007 24-hour television news channels in India Fake news in India Incitement to genocide of Muslims Incitement to genocide by the Hindutva movement Hinduism-related controversies in television Godi media Television channels based in Noida Television stations in Maharashtra 2007 establishments in Uttar Pradesh 2007 establishments in Maharashtra Right-wing politics in India Conservatism in India Far-right politics in India Hindu nationalism Hindi-language television stations