‘Sharbat Jihad,’ this newly coined term, has triggered the Islamist cheerleaders, also known as the left-liberal gang, into mindlessly promoting the sugar-loaded drink Rooh Afza. This comes after Yoga Guru and Patanjali Ayurved’s co-founder Baba Ramdev introduced the term ‘Sharbat Jihad’ while promoting his company’s new rose-flavored summer drink.
In a promotional video posted on Patanjali Products’ Facebook page on 3rd April 2025, Baba Ramdev criticized soft drinks, equating them to ‘toilet cleaners’ consumed under the guise of quenching thirst in summer. Without naming any specific company, Baba Ramdev asserted that this company, although it sells ‘sharbat’, the revenue earned from its sales goes towards the construction of mosques, madarsas and other Islamic institutions.
The inference here, however, appears to be Hamdard Laboratories (India), which makes the popular summer drink Rooh Afza. Contrasting this with Patanjali’s Rose Sharbat, Baba Ramdev claimed that its profits fund Gurukuls, Acharyakulam, Patanjali University, and the Bhartiya Shiksha Board. He further warned that just as there is love jihad and vote jihad, there is also sharbat jihad going on and that people, especially Hindus, need to protect themselves from sharbat jihad. Notably, even though the Yoga Guru warned people against the alleged sharbat jihad, he did not essentially oppose the ‘unnamed’ sharbat-maker’s practice of funding or running Islamic institutions.
“In the name of quenching thirst during summers, people drink cold beverages that are basically toilet cleaners. On one side, there’s the attack of toilet-cleaner-like poison, and on the other, there’s a company selling sharbat, which uses the money earned from it to build mosques and madrasas. That’s fine, it’s their religion…Protect your family and innocent children from the poison of toilet cleaner being sold under the name of ‘sharbat jihad’ and cold drinks. Bring home only Patanjali sharbat and juices,” Ramdev said.
Liberals get triggered over Baba Ramdev’s ‘sharbat jihad’ claim, start promoting unhealthy RoohAfza
The Indian left-liberal cabal has a knack for whitewashing or justifying Islamic terrorism, violence, Jihadist rhetoric, institutionalised Muslim hegemony and exclusionary Islamic practices. Be it whitewashing the Muslim mob violence in Nagpur by blaming Hindus and film Chhaava, opposing the Waqf Act 2023 so as to allow the continuation of Waqf Board’s encroachment of Hindu properties and government lands, villainising Hindus for waving saffron flags on a structure named after Salar Ghazi Masud, an Islamic jihadi plunderer who destroyed Hindu temples and killed Hindus to the general opposition to Hindu efforts at reclaiming their temples, liberals shrewdly deflect attention from the crux of issues to blame the victim and whitewash the perpetrator.
Although, there is no essential victim-perpetrator scenario in the ‘sharbat jihad’ controversy on the face of it, the liberal ecosystem has jumped in to defend and promote Hamdard’s flavoured sugar-syrup Rooh Afza because how dare a Hindu guru claimed that a company which is essentially a Waqf or simply an Islamic charitable endowment, is selling its product to people especially Hindus, while its profits fund construction and operations of mosques, madarsas, Islamic universities etc.
In this vein, pro-Congress propagandist and YouTuber Ajit Anjum alleged that ‘businessman’ Baba Ramdev has resorted to cheap theatrics to sell his sharbat and somehow found religion in sharbat as well. In his unbearable histrionic style, Anjum claimed that Baba Ramdev targeted Hamdard and its flagship product Rooh Afza because that company is owned by a Muslim. Amusingly, after wholeheartedly promoting Hamdard’s sugar syrup, Anjum said that it may appear that he is promoting Rooh Afza.
Another liberal ‘journalist’, Sakshi Joshi, also published her picture with a glass of Rooh Afza and called it “Mohabbat ka Sharbat”.
One Habeeb wrote, “Love jihaad, land jihaad, news channel jihad, government job jihaad ke baad ab market mein aaya “Sharbat Jihaad” Baba Ramdev’s attempt to promote Patanjali’s sharbat by calling Rooh Afza “Sharbat Jihaad” is not only disrespectful but dangerous. Using religion to push his own product is a blatant attempt to divide communities for commercial gain.”
Love jihaad, land jihaad, news channel jihad, government job jihaad ke baad ab market mein aaya "Sharbat Jihaad"
— Habeeb Masood Al-Aidroos (@habeeb_masood) April 9, 2025
Baba Ramdev's attempt to promote Patanjali's sharbat by calling Rooh Afza "Sharbat Jihaad" is not only disrespectful but dangerous. Using religion to push his own… pic.twitter.com/Ozex1kTvyU
Meanwhile, AltNews’s Mohammed Zubair, who earned notoriety by dog-whistling Islamists against ex-BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and passing off ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans raised by his co-religionists as ‘Nasir Sahab Zindabad’, called Baba Ramdev as ‘Lala Ramdev’ and claimed that the latter is playing Hindu-Muslim card. He further asserted that Patanjali Ayurved obtained Halal certification for some of its products meant to be sold in Gulf countries.
“Sharbat Jihad? Lala Ramdev is now selling his low quality Patanjali Sharbat by playing the Hindu-Muslim Card. He knows that’s the only way to fool Indians. The same Ramdev sold his Patanjali products in the Middle East by obtaining Halal Certification for some of its products, particularly those intended for export to Gulf countries,” Zubair posted on X.
Sharbat Jihad? Lala Ramdev is now selling his low quality Patanjali Sharbat by playing the Hindu-Muslim Card. He knows that's the only way to fool Indians. The same Ramdev sold his Patanjali products in the Middle East by obtaining Halal Certification for some of its products,… pic.twitter.com/R6sP3y5H86
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) April 9, 2025
It is pertinent to note that just like Mohammed Zubair, several others of his ilk are using the ‘Lala Ramdev’ term for Baba Ramdev to discredit his spiritual credentials and paint him as a full-time businessman masquerading as a Hindu saint. For Islamo-leftists, a Hindu saint doing business is outright communal for simply saying that a company is using its profits for Islamic purposes; however, an Islamic Waqf business earning profits from non-Muslims and then using those funds for running Islamic institutions is secular by default.
One anti-BJP troll, “Punster”, invoked ‘Islamophobia’ and claimed that Baba Ramdev is using it as a legit marketing strategy. “If you drink that sharbat (Roohafza), madarsa’s will be built. If you drink Patanjali Gulab sharbat, gurukuls will be built.” – Lala Ramdev, who is using islamophobia as a legit marketing strategy to build a business empire.”
"If you drink that sharbat (Roohafza), madarsa's will be built. If you drink Patanjali Gulab sharbat, gurukuls will be built."
— PuNsTeR™ (@Pun_Starr) April 9, 2025
– Lala Ramdev, who is using islamophobia as a legit marketing strategy to build a business empire. pic.twitter.com/uwipUge4kt
Hamdard: The 115-year-old Unani pharmaceutical and food company, its transition into a Waqf and its many controversies
‘Hamdard’ is an Unani pharmaceutical and food company established in undivided India in 1906 by Hakeem Hafiz Abdul Majeed. Following India’s bloodied partition on religious lines and the creation of Pakistan, Hamdard was transformed into a ‘Waqf’, an Islamic irrevocable trust with its profits meant to be utilized for Islamic religious, charitable and educational purposes. As India was partitioned, the Humdard family also split, with one branch establishing Humdard Pakistan.
Humdard Laboratories India continues to divert 85% of its profits to the Humdard National Foundation (HNF). Founded in 1964, the HNF runs many healthcare and educational institutions, including Jamia Humdard University, and provides courses in Islamic studies, etc. It runs a Ghalib Academy to promote Urdu literature. HNF also runs Jamia Hamdard Rabea Girls School, which has a reservation policy wherein 50% seats are reserved for Indian Muslims while the rest are open for non-Muslim students.
Notably, while Hamdard’s Waqf status implies that its revenue supports initiatives aligned with Islamic charitable principles, as per the company’s website, HNF’s institutions are open to non-Muslims as well.
While Rooh Afza is a cultural staple for many in India, especially for Muslims in Ramzan, over the years, Humdard has been embroiled in several controversies as well. In 2024, Humdard Laboratories India was accused of cheating millions of customers in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and the Middle East through false claims.
In February last year, it was reported that Humdard promoted Rooh Afza as a “nutritional drink” that “maintains as well as adjusts the body’s water level, has 13 herbal ingredients and 36 types of fresh fruit juices and fresh flower extracts”. However, the Dhaka South City Corporation had said that the ingredients mentioned in the cooling drink do not exist. Moreover, reports have cited health experts saying that Rooh Afza may cause serious health issues to a large number of people, particularly those suffering from diabetes. The findings were revealed from data collected from the market under the initiative by DSCC. A Bangladeshi civic official had alleged back then that Hamdard had been doing immoral things since the beginning.
Back in 2022, a major outrage erupted in Haryana after demands rose for 50% reservation for Hindus in jobs at Humdard. A Mahapanchayat was held in July 2022, which announced that in case the demand is not met, the Manesar-based company will be forced to shut down. In this panchayat, the Hamdard company was accused of discriminating against Hindus.
A former sarpanch of Manesar had claimed that Hamdard’s factory is built on the lands of local Hindu farmers. Being registered as a trust, it gets a lot of leeway and a free hand to operate in the way it wants. Although these allegations triggered massive outrage, Humdard’s Chief of Operations, Shailesh Tiwari, had denied this.
Halal-certified Rooh Afza is secular, but calling out Halal and Waqf’s exclusionary nature is communal: The ‘liberal’ hypocrisy
While left-leaning ‘journalists’ and commentators, ever-ready to selectively champion Muslims’ causes, are highlighting Rooh Afza’s supposed cultural significance, boasting it as a nostalgic summer drink, however, Humdard’s waqf status and its explicit alignment with Islamic charitable goals cannot be overlooked. While there is no verified evidence that Humdard funds construction or operation of mosques and madarsas as claimed by Baba Ramdev, since Waqf trusts often support ‘community’ welfare, it may include religious institutions like madarsas and mosques. Due to Humdard India’s Waqf nature, there is comparatively less transparency in these matters.
It is pertinent to mention that even if Humdard, being a Waqf entity, operated such Islamic religious-educational institutions, it would have been perfectly legal. However, most of Humdard’s products are Halal-certified. Even if we assume that Humdard does not use its revenue to run Masjids or madarsas, the Halal certification of its products like Rooh Afza itself is notable.
Both Waqf and Halal are mechanisms centred on Islamic principles and meant to promote the Islamic agenda. What could be called as corporate waqf, since Humdard, despite being a waqf entity, is a full-fledged business which complies with company laws, and is a commercial brand competing with conventional secular companies, its compliance with Halal certification contributes to the Halal economy.
Contrary to popular understanding, Halal certification is not confined to meat products alone. Pharmaceutical products, personal care products, cosmetics, and even flour, all come with halal certification now. With its ever-growing scope, it is creating the grounds for restricting the job prospects in these sectors to people from only one religion. Further, this parallel system of certification runs without any effective checks and balances from the government.
The term Halal is used for products, services, or systems that are considered lawful (Tayeib) or permissible under the Islamic Shariah law that do not consist of or contain any part that is considered unlawful (haram) according to Islamic law, and/or the actions permitted by Shariah law without punishment imposed on the doer.
In India, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (JUH)’s Jamiat Ulama-e-Hindu Halal Trust is one of the oldest halal certifying trusts. In January this year, the Uttar Pradesh government told the Supreme Court that numerous products other than meat were randomly labelled as ‘halal certified’, requiring the products to meet the specifications of the Islamic Law. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, while representing the Uttar Pradesh state government in the Supreme Court, stated that the state was shocked to see products other than meat, like cement, iron rods, water bottles, etc requiring halal certification. This revelation was made during the hearing on a plea challenging the UP government’s ban on Halal certification.
The UP govt said that the Halal certification is a parallel system, as the country has the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to determine the quality of foods, and that it violates the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, under which FSSAI was formed.
Notably, the Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind is one of the most influential and largest Islamic organisations, which has provided legal support to Muslims accused of terrorism cases for over a decade now. It has defended its actions, saying that they provide legal services to ‘innocent Muslims’. The legal cell, set up by JUH president Maulana Arshad Madani in 2007, takes up the cases and enlists lawyers to defend the terror accused in the courts. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind has offered its services to around 700 accused. What is worrying about such interventions is that they have been able to get acquittals of at least 192 terror accused since 2007. Most of the acquittals did not take place owing to the proven innocence of the accused. Jamiat also hired a lawyer to fight the case of the anti-Hindu Nuh Violence accused Congress leader Mamman Khan.
Halal economy, despite its discriminatory and exclusionary nature, thrives with even Hindus and other non-Muslims, most of the time unknowingly contributing to it, and is not opposed. Interestingly, in 2022, Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved had also obtained a Halal certificate from JUHHT for some of its products. These certifications are renewed based on annual audits. Before this, in 2020, ‘Halal India’, the halal certification body in India, refused to certify Patanjali products, stating that animal urine is prohibited from being granted halal status and some of the Patanjali products have cow urine as one of their ingredients.
While OpIndia does not back Ramdev’s sweeping accusations against Humdard or any company making rose-flavoured sharbat and using its revenue to fund mosques and madarsas (since he did not name Humdard), obtaining Halal certification specifically for products meant to be sold in Gulf countries is not hypocritical. Rather, it is business pragmatism and respect towards the norms of those Islamic countries. However, India is not an Islamic country. India is a Hindu-majority secular country. Thus, either there should be a complete restriction on Halal certification and Halal economy in India, or there should be no issue if Hindus or other non-Muslim communities come with their own similar exclusionary framework.
The real hypocrisy is when liberals glorify a Waqf entity’s Halal-certified product as a symbol of ‘secularism’, ‘cultural unity’ and whatnot but criticise a Hindu religious figure and businessman promoting their company’s product by promising to work for similar exclusionary systems. Although Baba Ramdev’s ‘Sharbat Jihad’ remark comes across as more speculative than factual, the ‘liberal’ critique against him conveniently skipped to mention exclusionary Halal certification when glorifying Rooh Afza, but raked up the same when bashing Baba Ramdev. The ‘liberal’ hypocrisy begs the question: Are religious rights exclusive to Muslims or Muslim-owned companies in India?
Amidst the outrage and criticism, it must not be forgotten that Baba Ramdev did not oppose, the fact that companies like Hamdard (although he didn’t explicitly mention its name) are utilizing their revenue for supposedly backing Islamic institutions, he only asserted that just as that company, according to him, uses its revenue for Islamic purposes, Patanjali Ayurved would its revenue for supporting Hindu educational institutions like Gurukuls.
Rooh Afza, like soft drinks, is highly unhealthy for regulation consumption given its high sugar content, however, liberals can consume poison if tomorrow someone, especially someone donning saffron robes, claims that a Muslim-owned company’s poison is deadly. They would consume it to prove that the poison was a blend of pre-2014 vibrant ‘secular’ era and sweet Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb, although they would probably not survive. ‘Jihad’ or not, high-sugar flavoured drinks are bad for health, just as liberal hypocrisy of defending one side of the same coin while slandering the other is for our country.
