The News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority has cautioned NDTV against using the term “thook (spit) jihad” in a generalised and stereotypical manner after a broadcast on the news channel about an alleged incident related to spitting on food.A complaint had been registered with the news regulator by an advocate, Utkarsh Mishra, about a broadcast on NDTV from December 2024, which was based on a widely circulated video from Meerut that showed a person preparing rotis while spitting on them.The incident in the report on the news channel was described using the phrase “thook jihad” and allegedly suggested that similar acts were being reported from several other places.In his complaint, Mishra said that the “anti-social” activity of one person spitting in rotis was reported as “thook jihad” to give it a communal angle.He added that the usage of the word jihad to describe the incident was a violation of the guidelines on preventing a communal colour while reporting crimes and on hate speech.Mishra also argued that the broadcast included an interview of the alleged accused conducted by a private person, which was presented as a police inquiry. The complaint further alleged that the version aired was incomplete.In a response to the complaint, NDTV had told the news regulator that its coverage was focused on public health and anti-social behaviour, adding that the broadcast was based on material already available in the public domain.The news channel noted that the phrase “jihad” reflected ongoing public discourse and was not intended to attribute the act to any particular community. The content had also been voluntarily removed, it added.In an order on May 19, News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority chairperson Justice (Retired) AK Sikri rejected the argument that NDTV had not referred to any specific community, adding that the terminology itself carried implicit meaning.“It was the assertion that it did not refer to any specific community in its coverage term of the incident,” the news regulator said. “However, even in the absence of explicit attribution, the use of the ‘jihad’ in the report referred to a particular community.”Sikri held that the underlying incident was serious and warranted coverage. However, the issue lay in how the incident was contextualised by NDTV, he added.“The sweeping generalisation of this incident as ‘thook jihad’ and the suggestion that this was not an isolated incident, but was a widespread occurrence, without substantiating the same, amounted to a violation of the Code of Conduct, particularly broadcaster's guidelines against Racial and Religious Stereotyping,” the News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority said.Noting that the TV channel had already removed the broadcast, the news regulator said it would not impose any penalty and instead issued a caution.“In view of the action taken by the broadcaster, NBDSA decided to close the complaint by cautioning the broadcaster to be careful in principles the future and to avoid such sweeping generalisations, consistent with the of the Code of Conduct,” it said.Written by Leah Thomas. Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.Also read: Hindutva finds a new target – ‘gym jihad’