Fact check: Disha Ravi is a Hindu, not Syrian Christian from Kerala

One suchrumor that is doing rounds is that her full name is 'Disha Ravi Joseph' and she is a Syrian Christian from Kerala.

Several users shared posts stating: "Her full name is Disha Ravi Joseph. Now understand..."

While some users have shared the tweets claiming that she is a Syrian Christian belonging to Kerala.

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Fact Check:

The claim that Disha Ravi is a Syrian Christian and belongs to Kerala is FALSE.

Disha Ravi hails from Bengaluru, Karnataka. Her family originally hails from Mysuru. They have been living in Bengaluru for the past 13 years.

According to a news report by New Indian Express, Disha's mother Manjula said that her family comes from a very humble farming background, and Disha has seen the ups and downs of agriculture. Hence, she has always been interested in climate and nature-related issues. The family from Old Mysuru has been living in Bengaluru's Abbigere, near Chikkabnavara, for the past 13 years.

According to The Print, Ravi lives with her mother, a homemaker in Bengaluru, and is the sole breadwinner in the family. When The Print visited her home in Abbigere, Chikkabanavara, her mother Manjula refused to speak. Some neighbors The Print spoke to described Ravi as a `soft-spoken' girl who would walk her German shepherd.

The News Minute report states that the family of Disha Ravi, the 22-year-old climate activist who was arrested by the Delhi police in connection with the 'toolkit' or a Google open source document on the farmers' protest on Sunday has clarified that she is Hindu, after hundreds of tweets, claimed that her actual name is "Disha Ravi Joseph. Dismissing these claims, her family has said that her full name is Disha Annappa Ravi.

Prasanna R, a lawyer and close friend of Disha's family, told TNM: "Her mother's name is Manjula Nanjaiah, the father is Ravi. They are from Tiptur in Tumkur district of Karnataka."

Prasanna also added that it does not and should not matter what religion Disha belongs to. "Disha's religious identity does not matter here. How is it relevant if she is Christian or Hindu? She is a nature lover and had friends from all over. She has not followed any religion though she was brought up in a Lingayat household. It is unfortunate that we have to debunk this cooked-up religious identity that is being used to spread hatred further."

Therefore, Disha Ravi hails from Bengaluru, Karnataka and belongs to a Lingayat community, and is a Hindu. Hence, the claim that Disha Ravi is a Syrian Christian and hails from Kerala is FALSE.