The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Saturday demanded an immediate ban on SAB TV’s flagship programme, Tarak Mehta Ka Ulta Chashma, alleging that it had hurt the sentiments of Sikh community by portraying a series of what it said were blasphemous acts.
In a statement to the media, SGPC chief Kirpal Singh Badungar said the serial had hurt the community by depicting a living character of tenth Sikh Guru Gobind Singh, which was “against the Sikh tenets”.
“No actor or any character can equate himself with the tenth Sikh Guru Gobind Singh. Such an act is unpardonable,” he was quoted by PTI.
Badungar said that a character, Roshan Singh Sodhi, in the serial was projected as Guru Gobind Singh and this was unacceptable to the community.
The apex religious body of the Sikh warned the channel and the director of the show from showing “blasphemous” content on small screen.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had declared the TV series one of the brand ambassadors of his per, Swacch Bharat scheme in the past.
The TV series is believed to be India’s longest running sitcom. It is produced by Neela Tele Films Private Limited. The first episode of the show went on air on 28 July, 2008. It airs from Monday to Friday on SAB TV. Reruns of the show started on Sony Pal on November 2, 2015.
The show is based on the column Duniya Ne Oondha Chashma written by columnist and journalist Taarak Mehta for Gujarati weekly magazine Chitralekha.