Video of Indian village assembly misrepresented as protest over India top court decision
- Published on January 1, 2026 at 11:11
- 2 min read
- By Sachin BAGHEL, AFP India
As protests broke out in India over a Supreme Court verdict in November 2025 that environmentalists say could potentially open an ecologically significant mountain range to mining, a video circulated online with a false claim it showed one of the demonstrations. It was actually filmed at a community meeting in January 2025 -- months before the court handed down its decision.
"A crowd of millions to save the Aravalli hills! There is strength in unity," reads part of the Hindi-language X post shared on December 20, 2025.
It also contains a "Save Aravalli" hashtag and shares a 20-second video showing a large crowd.
Protests broke out across India over the Supreme Court's decision in November to narrow the definition of the Aravalli hills -- one of the world's oldest mountain ranges stretching across Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat and Delhi (archived link).
Under the change, areas under 100 metres (328 feet) in altitude will be excluded from the range and will no longer be protected by mining restrictions (archived link).
Environmentalists have warned that this could leave many lower but ecologically vital hills vulnerable to mining and construction, according to India's ANI news agency (archived link).
The government, however, has said the move aims to standardise regulations and strengthen, not weaken, environmental protection (archived link).
The court stayed its own order on December 29 and formed an expert panel to further understand the ecological ambiguities (archived link).
The video was shared with similar claims on Facebook and X posts, but it actually shows a gathering held in January 2025 in a village in the western state of Rajasthan to discuss community issues.
A Google reverse image search led to a video published by local media organisation News18 on January 28, 2025 showing the same scene (archived link).
According to the report, the video shows a community gathering -- known locally as a mahapanchayat -- on a dispute between two families over a cancelled wedding ceremony, which drew a crowd between some 12,000 and 13,000 people.
In the video, a billboard with the text "mega mahapanchayat" can be seen.
Local media outlet Rajasthan News also published a report on the event, sharing similar visuals of the mega meeting (archived link).
Amit Meena, a resident at the village who took part in the January meeting, told AFP over phone on December 24 that it was organised at a wrestling ground in the village.
He said the false video is not related to the Supreme Court's order on the Aravalli, and no protests were held in his village.
AFP has previously debunked visuals of massive gatherings that were misrepresented with false claims.
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