Authors
Vaibhav is a part of Newschecker’s English team, where he spots and debunks all kinds of misinformation, making the rounds on the internet. A Journalism graduate from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, he holds an M.A degree in Philosophy and an M.Phil from Delhi University.
A screenshot of a social media post along with a photograph of JawaharLal Nehru being restrained is being shared online claiming that the image from 1962 showed the first PM of India Jawahar Lal Nehru being held back by onlookers after he was slapped by Swami Vidyanand Videh for saying that “Aryans were refugees in India”.
The image is being shared with a caption which reads, “When Nehru got a slap on the face by Swami Vidyanand Videh post 62 debacle.”
The post goes on to claim that “Nehru in his speech had said that Aryas were refugees in India, hearing this Swami who was also the Chief guest got up went up to the stage and slapped Nehru , pulled the mike to him and said “The Aryas were not refugees they were my ancestors and they were original inhabitants of Bharat but your ( Nehru’s ancestors ) were of Arabian descent and in your veins flow arab blood so you in fact are not the original inhabitants of this great Country … if Sardar Patel was the P.M instead of you , we would not be in such a sorry state”
The image has been shared on Facebook by the verified Facebook page of French ‘museum builder’ and journalist Francois Gautier who has 1,76,000 followers on the platform. The social media post has garnered 3,100 likes and 1,100 shares on Facebook and is being shared with the caption ‘Any comments? I did not know this episode. But Fake Aryan Invasion Theory is still in your history books (but not in my Museum).’
Newschecker found similar claims on Facebook containing the same image.
Newschecker found that this image had gone viral in 2019 as well.
Also read: Viral News Clip Of Niti Aayog VC’s Statement On Country’s Economic Situation Is From 2019
Fact Check/ Verification
Upon conducting a Google reverse image search on the viral image to ascertain its authenticity, Newschecker found that the same image is present on the Associated Press website submitted on January 06, 1997.
The description of the image reads “A security man grabbed Indian Prime Minister Nehru to keep him from plunging into a riotous crowd at a meeting of the Congress Party in Patna, India, January 1962. Later in the year, Communist China’s attack on India plunged Nehru into new troubles.”
Upon performing a keyword search, Newschecker found the archives of the Times Daily dating back to 8th January, 1962 on Google News Archive. The same image was printed in the newspaper along with the caption “Security men hold back Indian Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru to prevent him from plunging into a disorderly crowd at Patna, India, Friday, in a personal effort to restore order. A wild demonstration by India peasants broke up this meeting of Nehru’s Congress Party and sent 24 person’s to the hospital.”
A Google search for Swami Vidyanand Videh revealed that he was the founder of a company called ‘Ved-Sansthan’. According to the website of Ved-Sansthan, Swami Vidyanand Videh was a ‘Eminent scholar of Vedas’ and a preacher of a yogic life style. There is no mention or evidence of him slapping Jawahar Lal Nehru slapping him at a public meeting.
Conclusion
According to the investigation conducted by Newschecker, a picture of Jawahar Lal Nehru being restrained at a Congress party meeting in Patna 1962 is being passed off as Nehru being restrained after being slapped by Swami Vidyanand Videh after Nehru said Aryans were refugees in India.
Result: False Context/ False
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Authors
Vaibhav is a part of Newschecker’s English team, where he spots and debunks all kinds of misinformation, making the rounds on the internet. A Journalism graduate from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, he holds an M.A degree in Philosophy and an M.Phil from Delhi University.
