A televised debate on minority rights and regional violence has triggered controversy after ‘journalist’ Arfa Khanum Sherwani said that India had “lost the moral right to talk about the rights and safety of minorities anywhere in the world,” a remark that drew sharp rebuttals from fellow panellists who accused her of selective outrage, particularly when it came to violence against Hindus.
During the discussion, Sherwani argued that India’s internal record on minority protection undermined its ability to comment on developments abroad. “What I’m saying is India has lost the moral right to talk about the rights and safety of minorities anywhere in the world,” she said, adding, “It is not just about Bangladesh, it is not about Pakistan.”
Anchor Padmaja Joshi challenged the comparison, stressing proportionality. “Scale does matter,” Joshi said. “This is as different as somebody pinching me and somebody stabbing me. Scale is what defines how deadly a violence is and how we react or respond to it.”
The exchange intensified when panelist Subuhi Khan questioned Sherwani over what she described as inconsistent standards. Referring to a recent terror-related incident involving an educated Muslim doctor who carried out a suicide attack, Khan asked whether Sherwani felt similar “shame” in that instance as she claimed to feel over vandalism of Christmas decorations in India. “Did your head hang in shame that day?” Khan asked repeatedly.
Sherwani declined to answer directly. Calling the question inappropriate, she responded, “This is a really funny question. There is law and order in this country,” and added, “I do not want to reply to your question. What I want to reply to is that the case is under investigation. When we hear from the authorities, we will take a call on that.”
Khan accused Sherwani and what she described as a broader “digital activist ecosystem” of selective morality. She argued that isolated acts of vandalism against Christmas decorations were being amplified to suggest systemic persecution in India, while reports of Hindus being publicly attacked or killed in Bangladesh were allegedly met with silence. “What kind of selective outrage is this? What kind of hypocrisy is this?” Khan said during the debate.
Critics of Sherwani’s remarks said her framing effectively equated minor criminal acts with large-scale or targeted violence elsewhere, while invoking “law and order” to deflect scrutiny of terrorism when questioned. They argued that this amounted to a double standard that delegitimised concerns about violence against Hindus.
Arfa Khanum shames the entire India for some goons destroying the Christmas decorations, but look at her smile and then give the excuse of Law and order on a Jihadi muslim doctor blowing himself and other innocents in pieces.
She says India has lost the ground to speak on… pic.twitter.com/wT0w7srJO7
— Media Expose (@MediaExpose_) December 28, 2025
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