Unrelated Sikh march falsely linked to India 'cockroach' protests
- Published on July 24, 2026 at 12:38
- 2 min read
- By Sachin BAGHEL, AFP India
Misrepresented visuals continue to swirl online around rallies in India's capital New Delhi that have become one of the biggest challenges for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, including footage of sword-wielding men falsely shared as a scene from the protests. In reality, the clip depicts an unrelated march in the northern Uttarakhand state following a reported dispute involving Nihangs -- a warrior group renowned for defending the Sikh faith.
"Several groups, including Nihang Sikhs, have joined the ongoing protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar in support of the students," reads part of a Hindi-language Facebook post shared July 19, 2026.
The accompanying nine-second video shows several men brandishing swords and marching on as police officers appear to pull back.
"The game will begin on Jantar Mantar now," reads the overlaid text, referring to an astronomical observatory near the site of the protests.
Similar posts also spread on Instagram as thousands of protesters led by the Cockroach Janta Party movement -- a play on the name of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party -- rallied in New Delhi to demand the resignation of India's education minister (archived link).
A series of irregularities has stoked public anger, including the leak of a medical entrance exam paper -- forcing millions to retake the exam -- and a failure in an online marking system.
The protest movement has evolved to include concerns over unemployment, opportunities for young people and what critics brand as Prime Minister Modi's increasingly authoritarian style of governance.
The Hindu nationalist leader has vowed "stringent punishment" for anyone involved in leaking exam papers.
While there were online accounts of Nihangs joining the protest, the video circulating online is unrelated to the rallies staged in the capital (archived link).
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the video surfaced an eight-hour-long live video that features a corresponding scene, uploaded on a Facebook page called DailyPost TV on June 25, 2026 (archived link).
According to the Punjabi-language caption, the footage shows Nihangs marching into Uttarakhand state.
According to local media reports, four Nihangs were involved in a dispute with a local hotel operator over vehicle parking and were arrested by the police. The group seen in the video was reportedly heading to the police station to demand their release (archived here, here and here).
The reports further said police set up barricades in Kulhal town near the border with Himachal Pradesh state, which the group managed to breach.
Using details mentioned in the news reports, AFP was able to confirm the location of the clip by comparing it with Google Maps street imagery of a neighbourhood in Kulhal (archived link).
AFP has previously debunked other claims related to the CJP protests.
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