Unacademy controversy: Karan Sangwan did not respond to firing through a poem

Hyderabad: Edtech company Unacademy courted controversy after a video of one of its educators, Karan Sangwan, went viral in which he urged students to vote for educated candidates during elections.

Social media users alleged that Sangwan’s comment was directed towards prime minister Narendra Modi and accused Unacademy of promoting an “anti-Modi” agenda.

Subsequently, Unacademy terminated Sangwan’s contract. In an X post on August 17, Unacademy’s co-founder Roman Saini stated that the educator violated the company’s code of conduct by expressing his personal opinion.

Following this, a video of Sangwan reciting motivational verses is viral on social media. Users claim that the video is Sangwan’s response to his firing by Unacademy.

An X user shared the video in support of Sangwan using the hashtag #UninstallUnacademy. “Karan Sangwan’s reply to BJP and Unacademy. What a brave and courageous man. Absolutely Inspiring,” read the caption of the post.

Another X user shared the video with the caption, “Karan Sangwan’s reply to Unacademy after resigning…”

In the video, Sangwan recited: “Life, I have seen your stature, now you witness my courage. I stand in front of you even after falling a hundred times, now you witness my passion.”

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the video is being falsely linked to Sangwan’s firing.

We searched for the video and found an extended version of it uploaded on Sangwan’s YouTube channel on July 28, 2023. In this video, after reciting the poem, he asks students to show their passion (Junoon) on July 30. According to the description, the motivational video was for the students appearing for the Haryana Assistant District Attorney examinations.

Since the video was published on July 28, it was before Sangwan was fired for his airing his opinion during one of his classes.

How did the controversy begin?

On August 11, Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced three Bills in Lok Sabha to replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860; the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973; and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 to replace the IPC; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, for CrPC; and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023, for the Indian Evidence Act.

Following this, during a coaching session on the newly introduced bills in the Lok Sabha, Sangwan expressed his displeasure and said all the notes he created on criminal laws became useless as a result of the government’s decision. He added, “Remember one thing, the next time you vote, choose an educated candidate so that you do not have to suffer all this again in life. Do not vote for someone who only knows how to change names.”

There is a video which is his actual reaction to the situation. On August 17, Sangwan posted a video and said that one of his viral videos has landed him in controversy. He added, “Judicial aspirants and students who follow me have had to face consequences and so have I. To discuss how the controversy started, I will bring a detailed video for you on August 19 at 8 pm, live on this channel.”

Unacdemy co-founder Roman Saini revealed the sacking of Sangwan on August 17. Hence, we conclude that the viral video, which is from July 28, is being falsely linked to the controversy.