Old video from Rajasthan falsely shared as Muslims vowing to boycott Hindus in Karnataka

By: Rajini KG
July 5 2023

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Context

A video doing rounds on social media claims that Muslims in Karnataka have taken a “vow to boycott Hindu businesses.” In the video, a Muslim man urges others not to buy petrol and medicines from stores owned by Hindus, and to not travel in taxis or bikes owned by them. The man speaking in the video requests people not to engage with any business run by Hindus to attain jannat or heaven, as people cheer on. 

An Instagram reel of the same video shared on July 1, 2023 by an account called ‘thesarcasmicpage_’ claims that Muslims have called for a boycott of Hindus in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The video has the text “we have 5 years of Congress government to break the Hindus” overlaid on the visuals. The reel has over 101,000 views. The archive of the post can be found here.

A Twitter user also shared this video on June 29, 2023 and wrote: "In Bangalore, Mus!ms meetings they decided not to buy anything from Hindus. We have 5 years power, don't buy petrol in Hindu pumps,don't buy medicine from Hindu Shops. Do not want to give business profits to Hindus. 20% Jihadists are threatening 80% Hindu." The video garnered 367.9K views and 1,951 likes. The archive of the post can be found here.

However, the claim is false and has been shared out of context. The video is old and from Rajasthan.

In Fact

A reverse image search showed us that the video was posted on March 15, 2023, by the Twitter account 'हम लोग We The People' (@ajaychauhan41). It is shared with the caption, "Today Maulana has issued a fatwa in Barmer inside Rajasthan that don't buy anything similar from Jats, Gurjars, Chaudharys and also don't sit in any of their vehicles... The people of this Jamaat have been roaming around in mosques all over India and gathering Muslims and issuing such fatwas." 

In a reply to the post, the official Twitter account of Barmer police wrote that the clip was recorded following an accident involving a private bus on June 28, 2019. One person died and three others were injured during the accident. In another tweet, the Barmer police account wrote, "In protest against this incident, demands were made by the relatives of the deceased. (This) speech was also given by the relatives."

The Rajasthan police on March 15 posted on their Twitter account that the video was taken during the funeral of a person who succumbed to injuries sustained in the accident.

Logically Facts accessed the FIR copy registered in connection with the accident on June 28, 2019, confirming the incident. 

The video of angry relatives of the deceased in the accident is now being shared as an incident captured in Karnataka of members of the Muslim community protesting against businesses owned by Hindus. 

This video resurfaced on social media in June 2023 and was circulated with the narrative that it is from Bengaluru, Karnataka. The official Twitter account of the Bengaluru police on July 1 dismissed the claim and said that the video is old and not related to Karnataka. 

The Verdict

A 2019 video from Rajasthan has resurfaced online with a false narrative and has been shared out of context. It is not related to Karnataka.