By: Azra Ali
March 18 2024
No, the Gayatri Mantra was not recited at Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif's swearing-in ceremony
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Screenshots of the viral post sharing the false claim. (Source: X/ Facebook/ Modified by Logically Facts)
Fact-Check
The Verdict False
The viral video of the woman singing the Hindu chant is from a Holi celebration event organized on March 15, 2017, in Karachi.
Claim ID c6846a80
What is the claim?
A video of a woman reciting the Gayatri Mantra, a sacred prayer in Hinduism, at a public gathering in the presence of former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been going viral on social media with claims insinuating that the recent swearing-in ceremony of the new PM Shehbaz Sharif started with Hindu rituals. Shehbaz Sharif was sworn in as the prime minister on March 4 for a second term.
A social media user shared the viral video on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption: "PAKISTAN PRIME MINISTER'S SWEARING IN CEREMONY STARTING WITH "GAYATRI MAHA MANTRA" by Smt. NARODA MALINI SAHIBA. Now Pakistan has officially recognised the importance & it's recited in all functions (sic)." Archived versions of such posts can be found here, here, and here.
Screenshots of the viral posts.(Source: X/ Facebook/ Modified by Logically Facts)
However, the viral video is from March 2017 and is unrelated to Pakistan's Prime Minister's swearing-in ceremony.
How did we verify this?
In the viral video, the singer says 'Happy Holi' before she starts reciting the prayer. Holi is a significant Hindu festival, popularly known as the 'festival of colors', which is celebrated across South Asia.
A Google search led us to a news report by Indian outlet ABP News dated March 17, 2017, which included a screenshot from the viral video. The report titled "Hindu girl sings Gayatri Mantra before Nawaz Sharif in Karachi, Pak PM lauds her rendition" stated that as part of the Holi celebration, the minority Hindu community in Pakistan organized an event in Karachi on March 15, 2017, and hosted the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Singer Narodha Malini recited the prayer at the event, which was applauded by Nawaz Sharif, who also extended Holi wishes.
Screenshot of the ABP report.(Source:ABP/ Screenshot)
We found a video report dated March 17, 2017, uploaded on the YouTube channel of India News National which also showed the same visuals as the viral clip. The title of the video reads, "Pakistan: Gayatri Mantra sung in presence of Nawaz Sharif in Holi celebration."
We also found an interview video of singer Narodha Malini uploaded on March 21, 2017, on BBC Hindi's YouTube channel. According to the video description, the singer came into the limelight after reciting the Gayatri Mantra in front of then-PM Nawaz Sharif at a Holi celebration event. In the interview, Malini said, "I have recited the Gayatri Mantra in front of our PM and his encouragement can be seen in the video." (translated)
We watched the live-streamed telecast of the oath-taking ceremony of Shehbaz Sharif as Pakistan's Prime Minister on March 4 and found that there was no recitation of a Hindu prayer at the event, Shehbaz Sharif is the younger brother of Nawaz Sharif and helmed Pakistan's government for the first time in April 2022 replacing Imran Khan.
The verdict
A viral video showing a woman reciting the Gayatri Mantra in the presence of former PM Nawaz Sharif in Pakistan is from a Holi celebration event organized in Karachi on March 15, 2017. It does not show the recent swearing-in ceremony of Pakistan's PM Shebaz Sharif. Hence, we marked the claim false.