Fact Check: Viral photo does not show PM Modi visiting Pak Hindu refugees

The claim is False.

NewsMeter performed a Google reverse image search which led us to an article on the website narendramodi.in. It was titled "Immersed in nation building from a very young age" and had several childhood pictures of Modi, including the viral image. The image was published under the title "Beyond the Emergency" and was captioned "Narendra Modi in a village of Gujarat".

The article read, "Narendra Modi was made the 'Sambhaag Pracharak' (the equivalent of a regional organizer) as an appreciation of his activism and organizational work during the preceding years. He was given charge of South and Central Gujarat. At the same time, he was called to Delhi and asked to chronicle the official RSS account of the Emergency Period. It meant more work and balancing both regional and national duties, which Narendra Modi did with ease and efficiency. 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 organizer 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."

DNA and Press Wire 18 had published the photo and said it showed Narendra Modi visiting a village in Gujarat.

Press Wire 18 said the photo was from 1980. "Modi's work in the Sangh was praised a lot. Seeing this image of him, he was made a divisional pracharak and along with Vadodara, he was also given the responsibility of South Gujarat and Surat. It was during this time that the Bharatiya Janata Party emerged," it said.

According to reports by The Hindu and The New Indian Express, during the 2014 elections, Narendra Modi as the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate had promised equal rights for Hindus who migrated to India from Pakistan. Recently, Pakistani immigrant Hindus living in the Jodhpur district of Rajasthan had asked the government to give them COVID-19 vaccine based on travel certificates as they did not have Aadhar cards.

The viral message further claims that Mr. Modi had gone on a hunger strike 30 years ago for the repeal of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. NewsMeter searched for reports proving this claim but did not find any.

Meanwhile, we found a report published by The Wire on 5 August 2021. It said, "Two days after the resolution was approved by parliament and the Bill was passed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation in a television broadcast on August 8, 2019, stating why the Union government had chosen to remove J&K's special status." Nowhere did the report mention that Mr. Modi had gone on a hunger strike.

It is therefore evident that the claim made through the viral post is false. The viral image does not show Prime Minister Modi visiting Hindu refugees who migrated to India from Pakistan 30 years ago. Mr. Modi also did not go on a hunger strike seeking the repeal of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.