Visuals from Hindu pilgrimage misrepresented as Chinese troops crossing into India
- Published on July 17, 2026 at 07:08
- 3 min read
- By Sachin BAGHEL, AFP India
A local welfare organisation in India's northeastern state Arunachal Pradesh alleged in July 2026 that Chinese soldiers had set up camps on Indian territory near its border with China, but a video circulating online is not proof of the purported incursion, contrary to social media claims. The person who filmed the video confirmed to AFP it shows security personnel managing a crowd during an annual pilgrimage in India's Jammu and Kashmir region.
"Chinese soldiers crossed into Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh, occupied 60 kilometres (37 miles) of land, and took some Indian soldiers hostage," reads the Hindi-language caption of an Instagram video shared on July 7 with overlaid text repeating the claim.
The clip shows uniformed men trying to manage a huge crowd next to rolls of barbed wire.
The clip was shared in similar Instagram and Facebook posts days after the Indian Army dismissed reports that Chinese troops had crossed into India's Arunachal Pradesh (archived link).
The clarification was a response to allegations from the Nah Welfare Society -- a charity group that represents a local tribal community -- that Chinese soldiers had expanded their presence in areas along the India-China border (archived link).
Indian and Chinese troops clashed at the border in Arunachal Pradesh in December 2022 in one of the most serious incidents in recent years, leaving troops on both sides injured (archived link).
The Chinese military said Indian troops had crossed the border "illegally" and "obstructed" Chinese border patrol troops, while India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh accused Chinese soldiers of trying to "unilaterally change the status quo" at the border.
It was thought to be the most serious incident on the nuclear-armed Asian giants' disputed frontier since 2020, when 20 Indian troops and four Chinese soldiers died in a brawl (archived link).
Comments from users suggest they believed the footage shows Chinese forces occupying Indian land.
"Where is the Commander-in-Chief? PM what are you doing? Where have your army soldiers gone?" one user wrote. Another commented: "Narendra Modi is the reason for this."
But the video was actually filmed during an annual Hindu pilgrimage in the Baltal region of Jammu and Kashmir, approximately 3,300 kilometres (2,050 miles) from Arunachal Pradesh.
Scene from a pilgrimage
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared clip found the same footage -- flipped horizontally -- published on Instagram on July 5, with an overlay of Hindi-language text that reads: "Instant Registration & RFID Card, Baltal, Live Updated" (archived link).
The video's caption also mentions Amarnath Yatra 2026, an annual Hindu pilgrimage (archived link).
Baltal, a region in Jammu and Kashmir, is one of the two routes for the pilgrimage frequented by a large number of devotees ahead of the trek every year.
Sushil Saini, owner of the Instagram handle, told AFP via a direct message on the platform that the video was filmed in Baltal.
"I filmed it when a crowd gathered for on-spot registration near the entry gate in Baltal for the Amarnath pilgrimage", he said on July 9.
Google Street View imagery of the Baltal region matches the backdrop seen in the false video (archived link).
The barricade marked "J&K Police" in the false post clip also confirms it was filmed in the Jammu and Kashmir region, not Arunachal Pradesh.
AFP has previously debunked false claims stemming from the India-China border dispute.
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