Ravish Kumar, the Magsaysay Award-winning journalist recognized for his courage in journalism and dedication to reporting on marginalized sections of society, warrants scrutiny not just for his professional achievements, but also for the influence of his caste biases on his reporting. Despite receiving acclaim on a global platform, Kumar’s reporting has been marred by his persistent adherence to caste biases.
Upon leaving NDTV, Kumar garnered widespread praise for his unwavering commitment to journalistic integrity, with many lauding his refusal to capitulate to the current political regime. Sympathetic posts flooded social media platforms, particularly from unemployed youths who expressed concern over his job loss and urged others to subscribe to his channel. Buoyed by this support, including from marginalized communities, Kumar embarked on a mission that involved praising the Congress and upper caste leaders while criticizing what he termed “Godi media.” This shift in focus resonated with audiences, leading to a rapid increase in subscriptions on YouTube, with Kumar reaching the milestone of 10 million subscribers in less than two years.
Caste Dynamics in Ravish Kumar’s Election Coverage
During the Lok Sabha elections, various media outlets were prioritizing their coverage differently. Ravish Kumar took a stand against those media channels that seemed enamoured by PM Modi’s oratory skills, BJP’s campaigning style, and the government’s schemes. He termed this kind of journalism as “Godi journalism.” Initially, Ravish positioned himself as a neutral and progressive journalist without any political affiliations. However, he soon found it difficult to maintain this pretence and began making videos critical of the Congress party. This indirect support contributed to the Congress party’s election campaign in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Reviewing Ravish Kumar’s recent videos, such as “teesare charan ka matdaan,” “aayog se ghatata bharosa,” “arvind ko bel nhi,” “suneeta ka road show,” “mai kanhaiya hu,” “yogi number one,” “modi number one,” “priyanaka gandhi se bachke,” “hindu rashtra bnam samvidhan,” “amethi me rahul,” and “ye rahul wo rahul nhi hai,” “kyo hataya akash ko”, it becomes apparent that he is fixated on upper caste leaders and the Congress party. It has become increasingly challenging for him to conduct his journalism without discussing figures like Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi.
Ravish Kumar as big brother of Kanhaiya
When Kanhaiya was arrested in 2016, Ravish Kumar was at the forefront during prime time, covering his case. Upon Kanhaiya’s release from jail, Kumar visited JNU to interview him. Additionally, when Kanhaiya contested the 2019 election from the Begusarai seat, Kumar travelled from Delhi to interview him, also highlighting the poorly built house of Kanhaiya and showcasing the story of his mother’s work in the aanganwadi. Ravish’s presence in Begusarai wasn’t solely because Kanhaiya hailed from JNU or was economically disadvantaged; rather, it was to show solidarity based on their shared caste background. If Ravish had genuine concern for JNU alumni running for elections, he could have interviewed others, but those candidates did not share Ravish Kumar’s caste.
In the 2019 election, Kanhaiya Kumar repeatedly referred to BJP candidate Giriraj Singh as an outsider because he had left his Lakhisarai seat and contested from Begusarai against Kanhaiya. However, when Kanhaiya was labelled an outsider by people in Delhi, Ravish Kumar defended this tag. Kanhaiya argued that as Biharis, they are not outsiders in Delhi, highlighting their contributions such as cleaning roads and working as construction workers. Kanhaiya’s statement, recognized by Ravish Kumar, inadvertently shed light on the harsh reality that Biharis are still migrant workers, a situation not to be proud of. Kanhaiya also mentioned the secretary status of Biharis, but overlooked the recent data from the UPSC list showing a significant decrease in civil servants from Bihar over the past decade. Additionally, Kanhaiya failed to acknowledge that the secretaries managing the government departments are not SC/ST/OBCs but rather individuals from his caste.
Unveiling the Brahmanical Leanings of Ravish and Kanhaiya
When Ravish dedicated a 23-minute video to Kanhiaya Kumar, he began with Kanhaiya’s Azadi slogan. However, Ravish strategically omitted clips where Kanhaiya advocated slogans like “Brahmanvad se azadi, manuvad se azadi, rohith mange azadi, sanghvad se azadi.” This was despite Kanhaiya’s involvement in brahmanical politics, evident from his pre-nomination activities such as performing havan, wearing a bhagwa kurta with a yellow gamcha, sporting a kalava on his wrist, and applying a tika on his forehead. Rather than scrutinizing Kanhaiya’s engagement with Brahmanism, Ravish focused on portraying him as a secular, economically disadvantaged, and socially conscious individual. This raises questions about why Ravish did not question Kanhaiya regarding his participation in Brahmanical rituals and how he reconciled this with advocating for liberation from Brahmanism.
Ravish Kumar and the Manu-centric Media Narrative
The so-called liberal Ravish Kumar has time to wish every Hindu-Muslim festival and Gandhi Jayanti, but in his eyes, the architect of the Indian constitution, BR Ambedkar, is not considered a great leader. Thus, he did not share any posts related to Ambedkar on Ambedkar Jayanti. Additionally, when the closure report of Rohith Vemula came out, Ravish Kumar had no time to highlight the injustices done to Rohith and his family by the Telangana Police. If Ravish Kumar genuinely cares about young voices and youth leadership, why has he not made a video on left leader Sandeep Saurav? Saurav, also a JNU alumnus, currently serves as MLA from Paliganj, Bihar, and is contesting for Lok Sabha from Nalanda. Saurav possesses better political credentials than Kanhaiya Kumar. However, Sandeep Saurav cannot be a topic of discussion for upper caste media because he is Bahujan.
Recently, Ravish Kumar had made a video on Mayawati, titled “kyo hataya Akash ko” and advised Mayawati to consider Sunita Kejriwal. One must question why Ravish had no time to make a video when Aakash Anand was giving powerful speeches, but now he finds the need to point out why Mayawati removed Aakash Anand from his post.
If Ravish Kumar is openly labelling certain media, which are obsessed with the Modi government, as Godi Media, then he is also a part of Manu media. This is because he is also fixated on upper caste leaders, fabricated Hindu-Muslim issues, and lecturing Bahujans on “Samvidhan bacha lo” and “desh bacha lo.” Why does Ravish never make a video on the problems faced by Dalits or the threats to the lands of adivasis? Ravish needs to understand that Bahujans do not need his lectures to identify their issues; they are empowered enough to do so.
People think that Ravish Kumar is doing courageous work because he speaks against the government. However, Ravish cannot be considered courageous because, as an upper caste individual, he faces no real threat, unlike Bahujan journalists like Samar Raj and Activist Ved. Their entire pages and accounts were suspended because they were exposing the true condition of the country.
Ritu, National Coordinator, All India OBC Student Association
