Fact Check: Booklet titled ‘Magnificent Bharat’ was not gifted to G20 dignitaries

Hyderabad: Several social media users have claimed that a booklet titled ‘Magnificent Bharat’ detailing the ‘values of Bharat’ was presented to the dignitaries who attended the recently concluded G20 summit held in Delhi on September 9-10.

Those claiming have shared several snippets of the purported book which is said to describe India’s past. One of the snippets describes Hindu rulers as the ‘real hero’ and Muslim rulers as ‘invaders’.

A Facebook user shared the snippets from the ‘booklet’ with the caption, “Booklet distributed to the Dignitaries visiting Bharat during G2O meet. Perfect gift for one in all, to know our education systems and values of Bharat. (sic)”

Several Facebook and X users shared the snippets calming the same. Click here, here and here to view the posts.

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is false as no G20 dignitary was presented with a booklet titled ‘Magnificent Bharat’.

We ran a keyword search and came across a report by the Hindustan Times and Business Standard on the books to be presented to G20 dignitaries. Both reports mentioned that, ahead of the G20 summit, the Central Government released two booklets – Bharat, The Mother of Democracy and Elections in India – for the dignitaries at the G20 summit.

It is also mentioned that the booklets trace India’s history back to 6,000 BCE. It covers topics such as the significance of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the legacy of Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji, the democratic practices of Akbar, and India’s evolution in power transitions through general elections in the country.

A PIB press release said the book ‘Bharat: The Mother of Democracy’ captures the essence of Indian Democratic ethos. It also said that the Ministry of Culture organised an exhibition on the book during the G20 summit from September 8-10. This curated exhibition displayed the democratic traditions of our country.

We also did not find any mention of the book or booklet called ‘Magnificent Bharat’ on the website of the G20 summit.

Further, we found a copy of a book called Magnificent Bharat by Neha Agarrwaal on the e-commerce website Amazon. The details available on the website said that it was published on August 8, 2021.

A review on the book read, “A book that takes you on a wonderful tour of the glories of Ancient Bharat and how our Ancestors and rishis knew everything before the world got to know them.”

Although the books Bharat, The Mother of Democracy by the Indian government and Magnificent Bharat by Neha Agarrwaal talk about India’s history, both are not the same. Hence, based on our findings, we conclude that the Magnificent Bharat was not presented to G20 dignitaries. The claim is false.