Indian yoga guru Baba Ramdev has told a Delhi court that he will take down adverts in which he made controversial remarks about a rival firm’s drink, criticised by a judge as “indefensible”, the BBC reported.

Ramdev alleged that some brands used their profits to build mosques and madrassas in a video promoting a sweet drink made by his company Patanjali. He did not name the brand, but it was widely seen to be a reference to Rooh Afza, a popular drink made for more than a century by Hamdard Laboratories, an Islamic charitable organisation.

The video went viral, sparking outrage. Hamdard also filed a case, asking for the advertisements to be removed. Rooh Afza is a non-alcoholic sweet drink in syrup form which is popular in South Asian countries, including India and Pakistan, and is usually referred to as sherbet. The syrup, introduced in 1906 by Hamdard, is usually mixed with milk or water and is very popular among Muslims breaking their fast during the month of Ramazan.

BBC reported that in the video, Ramdev also used the phrase “sherbet jihad” — a play on terms like “love jihad”, used by radical Hindu groups to accuse Muslim men of converting Hindu women by marriage. In this case, it is appears to be suggesting Muslims are profiting from money spent by Hindus.

On Tuesday, a judge in the Delhi high court criticised Ramdev’s remarks, calling them “indefensible”, according to the BBC.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2025