Fact Check: RSS volunteers protest at Arunachala Hill against TN CM Stalin? No, video is from MP
A video showing a massive march of RSS volunteers is going viral with the claim that it is a protest against Tamil Nadu CM Stalin’s ‘anti-Hindu’ views.
By - K Sherly Sharon
Claim:The video shows an RSS march in Arunachala Hills protesting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin’s ‘anti-Hindu’ views.
Fact:The claim is false. The video shows an RSS march in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh.
Hyderabad: A video showing many people marching on a street is being circulated on social media.
Those sharing the video claim it shows lakhs of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) volunteers walking around Arunachala Hill in Tamil Nadu, in protest against TN Chief Minister MK Stalin’s alleged anti-Hindu views.
The text on the video reads, “Today, as a protest against the conspiracies being carried out by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin against Hindus, lakhs of RSS volunteers performed an Arunachala Shiva Giri circumambulation, sending shivers down his spine. Om Namah Shivaya.” (Translated from Telugu)
The video was shared on Facebook with the same text in the caption. (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the viral claim is false. The video shows an RSS march in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh.
Was there an RSS protest at Arunachala Hill?
Keyword searches did not show any news reports stating that RSS volunteers have protested in large numbers at the Arunachala Hill, in Tiruvannamalai of Tamil Nadu.
Using reverse image search of the viral video, we found an extended version of the video shared on X by an account called Organiser Weekly on October 6.
This video does not contain the same text found embedded in the viral video. The caption of the video reads, “#WATCH | A grand RSS Path Sanchalan was held in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh. #RSS100Years #RSS100 #RSS”.
A 6 minutes 38 seconds version of the video was also shared on Facebook on October 7 with the title, ‘#Sangh Centenary 100 Years… March Past’. In the comments, a Facebook user responded to a question mentioning the location as ‘Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh’.
Several social media posts sharing clips of this video also captioned that this march was conducted in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh. You can see these posts here, here and here.
What did media say about the event?
According to a report published by Amar Ujala on October 5, thousands of volunteers marched in unison on the occasion of the centenary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Ratlam on the same day.
The report further stated that processions started from five different locations in Ratlam and converged at Maharana Pratap Chowk. The grand procession then passed through Power House Road, Do Batti and concluded at the Ambedkar Ground. Around 20,000 volunteers participated in the procession.
Finding the location in the video
We used Google Maps Street View to check the stretch between Maharana Pratap Chowk and Ambedkar Ground. We found the exact location where the viral video was shot.
In the first few seconds of the Facebook video uploaded on October 7, as the camera pans slightly right, we can see signboards with the words ‘Ajit and’ as well as ‘Rishab’ on a grey coloured building.
Since the Google Maps Street View images are from December 2022, we found the same signboards on Shastri Nagar Road, on the way to Ambedkar Ground. Screenshots showing these signboards from the Facebook video and Google Maps street view can be seen below.
The viral video was shot on Shastri Nagar Road in Ratlam, MP, and does not show RSS volunteers circumambulating Arunachala Hill in protest against the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. Instead, it shows a march held to commemorate the centenary of the RSS.
Therefore, NewsMeter concludes that the viral claim is false.
