Old video from south India festival falsely shared as 'anti-Pakistan slogans' raised in Madhya Pradesh

Published on October 29, 2024 at 07:44
3 min read
By Sachin BAGHEL, AFP India

India has a long history of sectarian tensions between its Hindu majority and 200-million-strong Muslim community, but footage shared online does not show Hindus chanting offensive slogans in front of a mosque in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, as social media posts falsely claimed. The video was in fact filmed in Karnataka state in 2018. Hindu religious songs can be heard in the original clip.

"During the Mukkaram procession in Ujjain recently, Muslims raised 'long live Pakistan' slogans," read a Hindi-language Facebook post that shared the video on October 14, 2024.

"The very next day, Hindus in the city gathered in front of a mosque with saffron flags. They protested saying 'those raising pro-Pakistan slogans' should go to Pakistan."

'Mukkaram' appears to refer to the Islamic month of Muharram, while Ujjain is the largest city in Madhya Pradesh. Saffron is the sacred colour of Hinduism.

The video, which was posted in a Hindu nationalist Facebook group with more than 370,000 members, shows crowds waving saffron-coloured flags outside a mosque. They can be heard chanting anti-Pakistan slogans.

Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan are bitter adversaries with long-standing political tensions.

Screenshot of the false post

AFP found the video shared in similar Facebook posts from Hindu nationalist accounts. It also circulated on X.

However, AFP found no reports of Hindus chanting anti-Pakistan slogans at the 2024 Muharram procession in Ujjain.

Hindu festival

A reverse image search on Google found the clip previously shared in a YouTube video from March 26, 2018 -- years before the false social media posts emerged (archived link).

The clip can found from the 2.00 mark of the 12-minute YouTube video, which is titled "Ram Navami Full Crowd in Karnataka, Gulbarga 2018".

Ram Navami is an annual festival to celebrate the birth of Hindu god Ram.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the clip shared in false videos (left) and the YouTube video from 2018 (right):

Screenshot comparison of the clip shared in false videos (left) and the YouTube video from 2018 (right)

AFP confirmed the video was filmed outside the Bargah-e-Quadri Chaman Mosque in Kalaburagi, formerly known as Gulbarga, in the southern Indian state of Karnataka (archived link).

The scene in the video (left) corresponds to Google Street View images of the mosque (right).

Screenshot comparison of the clip seen in false posts and the street view of the location on Google Maps (right):

A bus with "Karnataka State Reserve Police" written on it can also be seen in the YouTube video.

Furthermore, the sound of anti-Pakistan slogans appears to have been edited onto the clip shared in false social media posts.

In the YouTube video, Hindu religious songs can be heard in the background. No anti-Pakistan slogans are audible.

A keyword search on YouTube found a video with the same anti-Pakistan slogans heard in the falsely-shared video (archived link).

According to the YouTube video from October 5, 2018, the slogans were chanted in Thane, Maharashtra. However, AFP was not able to independently verify this.

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