Aman Chopra
Aman Chopra is a television anchor who presents the primetime TV news show, Desh Nahi Jhukne Denge (Won’t let the nation down).
He is among the seminal vicious voices in Indian mainstream media that have normalized anti-Muslim hate-mongering on news channels. His shows are a complete spectacle of Islamophobia and Muslim demonization.
Chopra’s show, like other primetime news shows in India, runs solely on Hindu nationalist conspiracy theories, hate-mongering, and anti-Muslim propaganda.
For instance, one of his shows was inspired by the conspiracy of ‘thook jihad’ (spitting in food jihad). The episode of Chopra’s show from November 16, 2021, devoted an hour to discussing the “issue” of how Indian Muslims are allegedly spitting into food to intentionally weaken India’s fight against coronavirus.
The very next day after the episode aired, he sycophantically posted on Twitter, ‘Honored’, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi followed him back on Twitter.
Ten Muslim men were tied to an electric pole in Kheda, Gujarat by police and beaten mercilessly on the accusation of pelting stones at a Hindu gathering, Chopra played the video of their beating on his show. Celebrating the public canning of Muslims, he asked the viewers to count on the beatings that were inflicted by policemen on Muslim men.
Chopra repeatedly described the public caning of the men as the policemen playing “dandiya” (socio-religious folk dance), like it was a fun activity. If the visuals of the policemen hitting the men tied to a utility pole weren’t disturbing enough, Chopra directed his crew to amp up the volume and show these visuals with “full ambience”. He said mockingly, “They were pelting stones on the garba (Hindu festive gathering), but the police played dandiya (socio-religious folk dance) with them.”
Usually, the official titles of his shows are, blatantly and disgustingly anti-Muslim. The invitees to the show are mostly Hindu far-right leaders, Hindu extremists, or some renowned anti-Muslim hate mongers who routinely vilify and demonize Muslims throughout the show along with Chopra. One dummy Muslim Maulana (priest) would be placed on the panel as a ‘representative’ of the ‘other side’ who would shout once or twice, make some senseless comments and sit meekly during the remaining time.
Few titles of his show
“Bharat ke khilaaf hijabi gathbandhan”
(Hijabi coalition against India)
“Hindu Rashtra par Baba ka kesariya plan”
(Baba’s saffron plan on declaration of Hindu Rashtra (Nation))
“Islamic Kattarta ki Kashmir files”
(‘Kashmir files’ of Islamic extremism)
(Expand army and save Hindus)
“Garba par pathar bazi apradh ya jihad!”
(Stone pelting on Garba (Hindu Festival) congregation, crime or jihad)
“Khane mein thookna, jihad ya jahalat?” (Spitting in food, jihad or barbarism?)
Chopra comfortably uses euphemisms to refer to Muslims that are at least disparaging. He calls Muslims ‘Jihadis’, ‘Deshdrohi'(traitors), ‘atankwadi'(terrorists), agents, conspirators, tukde -tukde gangs, etcetera.
In the overall atmosphere of impunity, Chopra has somehow been rapped on the knuckle more than once. On October 21, 2022, the NBDSA (News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority) issued another order about a News18 India show anchored by him – this one on an April 20 broadcast on a demolition drive in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri. The show “glorified” the demolition drive, describing those affected as “Rohingyas,” “rioters” and “jihadis”, with tickers like “JCB = Jihad Control Board”
Soon after that, a fine of Rs 50,000 was imposed on News18 India by the NBDSA on October 26, 2022 for its coverage of the Karnataka hijab ban. Chopra, who was the anchor of the show aired on April 6, 2022, kept comparing the hijab-supporting panelists with Al Qaeda.
Chopra had referred to Muslim girls who were protesting the hijab ban (a head covering worn in public by some Muslim women) as “hijabi gang” and “hijab wali ghazwa gang” while making “false allegations that they had resorted to rioting.”
The News Broadcasting & Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) imposed a fine of Rupees fifty thousand on Chopra for expressing ‘extreme views’ against Muslim community in the show.
During the show, his observations imply that Muslims are completely safe in India and that it is Hindus that are in danger from the Muslim community. His social media feeds are equally venomous. Whatever remains at the news studio, he compensates for that on Twitter.