Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Claim
A Muslims-only train plying from Hyderabad to West Bengal.
Fact
A special train for pilgrims to visit the tomb of a Sufi saint in Karnataka on his death anniversary.
Several social media users are circulating a video of what appears to be a decked-up Indian Railways passenger train with communally charged claims, which mainly state that it is a Muslims-only train running from Hyderabad to Howrah, West Bengal.“The train going from Hyderabad to West Bengal was converted into Muslim Express by Jihadis. The guard is saying that the car will not go like this, but the Jihadis are adamant that they should send the car like this. What mindset is this? No news channel is showing this news,” read one such post on Twitter.
Fact Check
Newschecker ran a frame of the video, showing a banner written in Urdu, past Google Lens, which translated the text to, “Urs e qadeer Mubarak, jamee ahle silsila qadeeriyah”.
A relevant keyword search led us to this Youtube video, dated August 2, 2023, featuring the same train, titled “Sandal Special Train Entry || 46th URS E QUADEER || Astana E Quadeeri, Halkatta Shareef”. A similar video by Gulbarga Times can be seen here. We learnt that a special train was arranged on August 1 from Hyderabad to Wadi Junction in Karnataka.
A further search led us to this press release from the South Central Railways, dated July 27, 2023, headlined, “Unreserved Special Trains between Hyderabad – Wadi for Urs Celebration.”
It stated, “In order to clear extra rush of pilgrims attending the 46th Anniversary Celebrations of Urs – e – Shareef of Great Saint Hazrath Khwaja Syed Mohammed Badesha Quadri Chisthy Yamani on 1 August, 2023 at Halkatta Shareef near Wadi junction, four special trains will be run as detailed below.” We learnt that Hazrat Khwaja Shaikh Mohammad Badshah Qadri-ul-Chishti Yamani Raichuri Rahmatullan Alayh was a Sufi saint of the Chisti order in India and that he is entombed in Halkatta Shareef outside of Wadi in the Gulbarga District of Karnataka. There is an annual festival or Urs for Badesha Quadri and thousands of his followers travel to Halkatta Shareef for it. The Urs marks the anniversary of the saint’s death.
The special train was similarly decked up, considering the green mosque cutout, last year. Similar tweets by the South Central Railways on this special train for pilgrims that has been running since 2015 can be seen here, here and here. Also, similar special trains had been arranged in the past for both Muslims and Hindus during their festivals, seen here, here and here.
Also Read: Manipur Conflict: A Kuki-Meitei Duet? No, Video Viral With False Claims
Conclusion
A video of a special train from Hyderabad to Karnataka for devotees to visit the tomb of a Sufi saint on his death anniversary has gone viral with a communal spin.
Result: False
Sources
Youtube video, August 3, 2023
South Central Railways press release, July 27, 2023
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
