Fact Check: Viral photo does not show Modi visiting Hindu refugees from Pakistan
A black and white photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi talking to a few people has gone viral on social media with the claim that he met Hindus displaced from Pakistan at a refugee camp in Barmer, Rajasthan.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 21 March 2021 6:57 AM GMT
Hyderabad: A black and white photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi talking to a few people has gone viral on social media with the claim that he met Hindus displaced from Pakistan at a refugee camp in Barmer, Rajasthan.
Actor and former chairperson of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Gajendra Chauhan shared the photo and tweeted in Hindi which translates as "This is a rare 31-year-old photo when Narendra Modi reached a camp in Barmer to meet Hindus who had been displaced from Pakistan. He was neither the Chief Minister of Gujarat nor the Prime Minister of the country. Standing with the people is in Modiji's nature." (archive)
Fact Check:
NewsMeter found that the claim is FALSE and the image was taken in Gujarat in the early 1980s
A reverse image search led to a gallery on the website narendramodi.in. The photo can be found under the headline 'Immersed in nation building from a very young age'. The caption reads, "Narendra Modi in a village of Gujarat."
The website states that Mr. Modi was made the 'Sambhaag Pracharak' (the equivalent of a regional organizer) for his activism and organizational work and was given charge of south and central Gujarat. He traveled across Gujarat during the early 1980s and this gave him the opportunity to visit every taluka and village in the state.
It reads, "His travels across Gujarat continued and increased through the early 1980s. This gave him the opportunity to visit every Taluka and almost every village in the state. This experience came very handy for him both as an organiser and as the Chief Minister. It gave him a first-hand view of the problems people face and increased his resolve to work harder to solve them. When droughts, floods or riots struck he would lead the relief efforts too."
This confirms that the photo was taken sometime in the 1980s.
The claim that this image shows Mr. Modi visiting Hindus displaced from Pakistan at a refugee camp in Rajasthan is FALSE.
