Twitterati up in arms over this KBC question, here's why

Image: Twiter/@KBCsony

Kaun Banega Crorepati, the popular TV show, found itself at the receiving end of sharp barbs from Twitter users after referring to Maratha ruler 'Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj' as just 'Shivaji' in a question posed to one of the contestants.

The controversy erupted when a question was asked in the show about the contemporaries of Aurangzeb.

The options listed were:

Maharana Pratap, Rana Sanga, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and Shivaji.

If omitting the title 'Chhatrapati' was not enough, to add insult to injury, the show had listed the names of all the other rulers with their respective titles, such as 'Maharana' Pratap, 'Maharana' Ranjit Singh, and 'Rana' Sanga. Moreover, the Mughal ruler in question,was referred to as the "emperor", making the lack of a title for Shivaji even more insulting.

Disgruntled, they took to the microblogging platform to vent their anger and shortly after, the '#Boycott_KBC_SonyTV' started trending.

#Boycott_KBC_SonyTv#Boycott_KBC_SonyTv

1) KBC serial in Sony Tv shows respect to Aurangzeb as Mugal sambrat & Shri Chattrapathi Shivaji Maharaj as 'Shivaji' mentioned. We oppose this dis respect of The great hindu king. — Sandhya (@Sandhya48111859) November 8, 2019

@SonyTV Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is Pride of Nation. You Should Write his Name Respectfully#Boycott_KBC_SonyTv@VgDaula@kk_hjs@PoonamS18232206@sureshmun

— Seema Sharma (@SeemaS1967) November 8, 2019

#Boycott_KBC_SonyTv my respect for the show & the anchor has taken a huge dip when i see that the respectable #ChatrapatiShivajiMaharaj is denigrated by being called by first name only & the worst of all Mughal rules aurangzeb being ennobled with such respect @VikasSaraswatpic.twitter.com/9UGJKaz1Tv

— Thakur Singh (@cathakursingh) November 8, 2019

#Boycott_KBC_SonyTv This is painful.... and shameful too. This is what we are lacking, Chatrapati Shivaji did so much and we cant even respect his work , what coming generation going to learn from this? pic.twitter.com/SFAyw9zr8l

— teena khera (@teenakhera) November 8, 2019

#Boycott_KBC_SonyTv@SrBachchan sir, it was never expected from such a respectable person like you that you called a cruel Mughal Emperor with such respect & #ChatrapatiShivajiMaharaj just by his first name & disrespect him. feeling bad for it.#FridayThoughtspic.twitter.com/FAU11XqnOD

— Abhishek Mandhare (@HJS_AM719) November 8, 2019

The channel issued an apology on the KBC episode aired on November 7.

"There was an inaccurate reference to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj during yesterday’s episode, due to inadvertence. We deeply regret the same," it ran a ticker.

They also tweeted:

There was an inaccurate reference to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj during Wednesday’s KBC episode, due to inadvertence. We deeply regret the same and being mindful of the sentiments of our viewers have carried a scroll expressing regret during our episode yesterday. #KBC11pic.twitter.com/FLtSAt9HuN

— Sony TV (@SonyTV) November 8, 2019