On the evening of May 29, 2026, a primetime debate on Aaj Tak was expected to focus on NEET, the national medical entrance examination that had once again come under scrutiny following a major paper leak controversy. The discussion began with concerns over compromised exams and the uncertainty faced by thousands of students. However, as the debate progressed, the focus shifted. Senior journalist and managing editor Anjana Om Kashyap redirected the conversation toward YouTube educators, describing them as "do kaudi ke" and accusing them of being frauds, sparking a fresh controversy beyond the issue of the exam leak itself.
The clip circulated within hours. And then, in a way that Indian television rarely experiences anymore, the internet talked back.
During the live debate, Kashyap accused YouTube teachers of having no real knowledge, claiming they sketch things on blackboards not to teach but to "grab views, do drama, and make money." She used the Hindi phrase "do kaudi ke", roughly meaning "not worth two pennies", to describe them, adding that despite knowing nothing, these creators had started believing they were important voices on every subject.
The remarks were met with significant backlash. Not because they were entirely without merit— there are certainly segments of the online education space that rely more on marketing than meaningful teaching, often making promises they fail to deliver. However, the criticism was not directed at specific individuals or platforms. Instead, it appeared to target the entire YouTube education ecosystem with the same argument. By generalising hundreds of educators and the millions of students who rely on them, the comments struck a nerve and triggered the strong reaction that followed.
Abhinay Sharma, creator of the Abhinay Maths channel, replied by asking: if YouTube educators are worthless, then who has been preparing millions of students for exams like NEET, UPSC, SSC, and JEE over the past several years? It was a simple question, and it had no clean answer. Suman Ma'am, who teaches through the Ocean Gurukul platform, pointed out something more personal — that Anjana Om Kashyap, who should be an inspiration to people, was sitting in an air-conditioned studio and calling them fraud, while she herself runs free marathon classes for students who cannot afford coaching, and the anchor was chasing TRP rather than talking about real problems like student unemployment or paper leaks.
Then came Khan Sir. Faisal Khan, known to tens of millions of students across Bihar, UP, and Jharkhand, said something that became its own kind of headline: "Shikshak ko keh rahi hai inko kuch nahi aata, to tum padhaao aake" — if she is saying that educators know nothing, then she should come and teach. In a slightly different version that circulated even more widely,
it was reduced to four words: Tu apna gyaan apne paas rakh. Keep your knowledge to yourself.
The students arrived next. Thousands of them, from Bihar and Rajasthan and Jharkhand and UP, flooding comment sections and Twitter threads with the same basic testimony: I cleared my exam because of this person. There was no one else. These were not trolls defending a celebrity. They were students defending the only classroom that had ever been available to them.
To understand why the backlash was so strong, it is important to look back at the COVID-19 pandemic. When schools across India shut down in March 2020, millions of students were left without access to learning. In several states, over 80% of government school students received no educational support from the formal education system. With 1.5 million schools closed and 247 million children affected, a huge learning gap emerged. Into that void stepped YouTube educators. Armed with little more than a camera and a marker, they provided lessons to millions of students when the traditional system could not.
Khan Sir's channel crossed 20 million subscribers during that period. Abhinay Maths became a lifeline for SSC aspirants in towns with no coaching infrastructure. Ocean Gurukul ran marathon sessions, free, for girls preparing for state-level exams in districts where paying for tuition was not an option. These were not content creators chasing the algorithm. They were, in many cases, the only education happening in those homes.
This is also why the timing of Kashyap's remarks struck such a nerve. The 2026 NEET paper leak was fundamentally a failure of institutions, the examination system, the NTA, and the authorities responsible for safeguarding students' futures. Many YouTube educators had been among the most vocal voices of that failure. Khan Sir, in particular, had publicly questioned why exam bodies were not being held accountable. Yet, instead of focusing on institutional downfall, the debate shifted toward the very educators who had been demanding answers. What should have been a discussion about the system became a discussion about them.
And then it became something else entirely. Anjana Om Kashyap and TV Today Network filed a ₹2 crore defamation suit before the Delhi High Court against educator Faisal Khan, over his allegedly defamatory remarks made in connection with her coverage of star teachers and the online education ecosystem.
The Delhi High Court declined to grant interim relief at this stage, directed that notice be served upon all defendants, and scheduled the next hearing for June 17, 2026. Lawyer Ashish Gehlot described the case as a potential SLAPP suit, strategic litigation against public participation — arguing that such cases are often used to secure quick takedown orders and gain legal advantage rather than to genuinely address defamation.
To many observers, the lawsuit felt less like a response to criticism and more like a way of making criticism costly. That perception was made even more striking by the fact that journalists in India have frequently spoken out against the use of legal action to intimidate critics. Now, some argued, a journalist was being accused of employing similar tactics against educators and independent media outlets.
As of the latest reports, neither Anjana Om Kashyap nor the channel that aired the debate had issued a public apology or clarification.
More broadly, the controversy reignited a question Indian television news has long struggled with—credibility. While traditional debates continue to rely on confrontation and spectacle, many students have turned elsewhere for learning and information. They watch educators like Khan Sir explain current affairs, follow online teachers for exam preparation, and support free classes through digital platforms. The classroom, in many ways, has moved online.
That is why the remarks resonated so deeply. At a time when millions of students depended on digital educators during school closures, dismissing the entire ecosystem as fraudulent felt disconnected from their lived reality.
The debate that should have focused on the NEET paper leak and institutional accountability instead became a controversy about educators themselves. The original issue faded from the spotlight, replaced by lawsuits, public outrage, and social media trends.
In the end, the episode revealed less about YouTube teachers than about the changing relationship between trust, education, and media in India.
References:
- The Jan Post — 'Do Kaudi Ke' Remark Backfires
- Hauterrfly — YouTube Educators React
- Hindustan Herald — Anjana Om Kashyap: 1 Remark That Broke the Internet
- The Live Nagpur — Anjana Sparks Row, Khan Sir Hits Back
- Scroll. in — Anjana Om Kashyap Files Defamation Suit Against Khan Sir
- Exchange4Media — ₹2 Crore Defamation Suit Filed
- LawBeat — Delhi High Court Refuses Interim Relief
- Madhyamam Online — Defamation Suit Named Defendants
- Inventiva — 'Do Kaudi Ke' Said Anjana, Then Filed a ₹2 Crore Case
- Scroll. in — India Ranks 157th in 2026 Press Freedom Index
- PMC / NCBI — Roadblocks in Education During COVID-19, India