Clipped video of PM Modi talking about his education shared with missing context

A video clip from an interview of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with former journalist Rajeev Shukla is going viral on social media. Those sharing the video are claiming that PM Modi has only studied till high school.

Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan shared the video and wrote, “Being illiterate is not a crime, nor a matter of shame. But lying by giving an affidavit that I have done BA and MA in “Entire Political Science” is a crime and a matter of shame…” (Translated)

Several others have also shared the video claiming the same. (Click here and here to view the posts.)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the video is clipped and does not show the full context.

We ran a keyword search on YouTube and found the extended version of the video published by a channel, Samina Khan. According to the description, it is an old video of PM Modi giving an interview to former journalist Rajeev Shukla.

In the video, Mr. Modi can be heard saying that he completed his BA and MA through distance education.

The viral clip appears at the 20.35-minute mark, where Mr. Shukla asks Mr. Modi about his educational qualifications. To this, he replies, “I left home at the age of 17 after high school. From then on until today, I am very much focused on learning new things.”

Then Mr. Shukla interjects and asks whether he has finished his schooling, to which Mr. Modi replies that he completed high school.

Mr. Modi further adds, “After high school, a senior in the Sangh pushed me to finish my graduation. So, I graduated through an external examination from Delhi University and then finished my postgraduate as an external student when they pushed me to do an MA. I stood first in the university but haven’t seen a college’s gates.”

It is evident that the viral video is clipped and does not show the full context. Hence, we conclude that the viral video is misleading.