Viral: Fake quote of Ravish Kumar calling ISRO ‘brahmanical’ and ‘anti-minority’

“इसरो ब्राह्मणवादी है और अल्पसंख्यक विरोधी भी चाँद पर विक्रम ही क्यों भेजा उस्मान अब्दुल या पीटर क्यों नहीं?
चन्द्रयान से क्या हासिल होगा हजार करोड़ फूक दिए दक्षिण की सतह पर उतर कर केवल सेल्फी लेने के लिए जबकि आज भी भारत मे एक कटोरा दाल भात के लिए लोग मर रहे है .! #RavishKumar”

Translation: “Isro is brahmanical and anti-minority; why did it send Vikram to the moon and not Usman, Abdul or Peter? What will be gained from Chandrayaan thousands of crores have been wasted just to take a selfie on the south pole, when even today people are dying for want of food..!” #RavishKumar

The above statement has been attributed to journalist Ravish Kumar and has been shared on social media along with a photograph of him.

The same has been circulated on Twitter and Facebook with identical text.

FAKE QUOTE

Alt news found that this quote, viral on social media in the name of Ravish Kumar, is fake. Had Kumar made such a statement, it would invariably have been picked up by prominent media houses, since he is a decorated journalist. However, we found that no such thing had been reported by the media.

Alt News contacted Ravish Kumar who confirmed that the quotation is fake. He said, “I have not given any such statement. How long will people use my photo and spread falsehood.” (translated from Hindi). 

Only last week, an old video clip was juxtaposed with a clip of a recent broadcast and shared with a misleading claim. Alt News’ fact-check on the same may be read here. Ravish Kumar has repeatedly been targeted via misinformation. He recently received the Ramon Magsaysay award, following which his detractors have targeted him aggressively.