This video from 2015 shows police hitting Islamic seminary teachers protesting in eastern India
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on August 26, 2019 at 10:15
- 3 min read
- By AFP India
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The video, which is one minute and two seconds long, was shared here on Facebook on July 7, 2019, where it has been viewed more than 18,000 times.
A Hindi-language caption translates into English as: "Distribution of sweets started in Kashmir."
Sweets are often given out in India after religious rituals are performed; the term is apparently being used ironically in this context.
The Indian government rescinded the autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 and put the state in lockdown, as described in this AFP report.
Below is a screenshot of the misleading Facebook post:
The video has also been shared elsewhere on Facebook, for example here, here and here alongside the same claim.
The same video was widely shared a year ago with similar claims in multiple Facebook posts, for example here, here and here.
The claim is false; the video shows a clash between protesting teachers from Islamic seminaries and local police in Patna city of the eastern Indian state of Bihar in August 2015.
The words “Gardanibagh Police Station” are written in Hindi on a red and blue sign at the video’s 35 second mark. The sign is highlighted in yellow in the screenshot below:
‘Traffic Police Patna’ is also written in Hindi on another sign, highlighted in green in the screenshot below.
Gardanibagh is in the centre of Patna city, where government buildings and the chief minister’s residence is located.
A Google search using the keywords, ‘Police beat protesters and Gardanibagh’, found multiple video and text reports with the same footage.
A video report was published here on YouTube by news channel India TV on August 27, 2015.
“Watch this video as Madrasa teachers got injured in police lathi-charge during the protest in Patna,” says a description alongside the video.
A lathi-charge refers to a manoeuver involving police running forward wielding sticks to disperse a group of people.
The incident was also reported on media outlet “India”, alongside a screenshot of the video from the same day. A screenshot of the article is shown below:
“Bihar: Madrasa (Islamic seminaries) teachers protest against government for non-payment of dues; police resort to lathicharge,” reads the headline of the report.
Below is a comparison between a screenshot from the video in the misleading post (L) and in the India news outlet (R).
The Times of India also reported on the police action against the protesters, who were demanding the refurbishment of thousands of madrasas in Bihar.
The first paragraph reads: “Police resorted to lathicharge on Thursday on the supporters of the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat (AIMMM) and madrassa teachers. They were protesting at the Gardanibagh stadium but allegedly tried to go to the CM’s house to meet him when they were stopped by the police. Many of them were injured in the lathicharge”.
“CM’s house” is a reference to the official residence of the chief minister.
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