A video viral on social media is being shared with the claim that it represents the mistreatment of the minority Muslim population in India. This comes in the backdrop of Pakistan’s decision to release Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman as a “peace gesture.” Pakistani political commentator Zaid Hamid was among those who circulated the clip where a bunch of boys can be seen throwing buckets of water on burkha-clad women. He shared the video with claims that the Indian populace has no regard for human dignity and the honour of women and children. “Let the bloody pilot go back …then see how low they will sink,” Hamid’s tweet ended with this statement.

Bloody “goodwill gesture”…🤬😠😡

Told you we have an evil and unscrupulous savage enemy….who have no respect for human dignity, honor of our women or children….

This is a normal day in India…

Let the bloody pilot go back …then see how low they will sink…. pic.twitter.com/8tY8KO8N6d — Zaid Hamid (@ZaidZamanHamid) March 1, 2019

Another Pakistani Twitter user shared the video with an Urdu caption. Its rough English translation reads, “Hindu extremists humiliating Muslim students.”

انتہا پسند ہندووں کی مسلمان یونیورسٹی طالبات کے ساتھ شرمناک حرکتیں 😔 pic.twitter.com/2CDY7aMWZ4 — Aneesa (@Aneesarajput) February 28, 2019

The clip posted by Azad Kashmir native Abdul Rauf Siddiquie received more than 28,000 shares. Last year, Siddiquie had falsely claimed that the Indian army burned houses in Kashmir.

انتہا پسند ہندووں کی مسلمان یونیورسٹی طالبات کے ساتھ شرمناک حرکتیں ان بہنوں کے لئے کون آواز اٹھائے گا 😢😢 Posted by Abdul Rauf Siddiquie on Thursday, 28 February 2019

Video also circulated with an altered narrative

Another narrative used to share the video is – “RSS groups torturing Muslim college girls.”

RSS groups torchering Muslim college girls😡 Posted by JK Bright Side on Thursday, 28 February 2019

The said claim is viral on social media.

What is the truth?

Alt News traced this video to February 23, 2019, when it was posted by a few users as an incident of ragging in Eastern University, Sri Lanka. If one carefully listens to the audio in the clip, people can be heard talking in Tamil, which is one of the dominant languages of Sri Lanka.

A Sri Lankan resident Mohamed Sarjoon posted about the incident.

#இலங்கை கிழக்கு பல்கலைக்கழகத்தில் கற்கும்

(eastern university of srilanka ) #இனத்துவேசமிக்க மாணவர்களின் பகடிவதைக்கு ஒரு… Posted by Mohamed Sarjoon on Saturday, 23 February 2019.

Another Sri Lankan citizen had uploaded the identical video on February 24. We also found a local Tamil website Online Ceylon which wrote about the incident.

The website published another article on the case of ragging and uploaded a similar video of boys throwing buckets of water. However, in this video, not only burkha-clad women but girls in school uniforms can also be seen trying to escape.

Since India’s retaliation for the Pulwama terror attack, misinformation on social media has witnessed a surge, affecting both sides of the border. The cycle of misinformation refuses to stop even after the announcement of the release of Wing Commander Abhinadan Varthaman. Now, a video from Sri Lanka is being used to mock a “goodwill gesture” to push the narrative that there is no respect for human dignity and honour of Muslim women in India.

Donate to Alt News!

Independent journalism that speaks truth to power and is free of corporate and political control is possible only when people start contributing towards the same. Please consider donating towards this endeavour to fight fake news and misinformation.



Donate Now To make an instant donation, click on the "Donate Now" button above. For information regarding donation via Bank Transfer/Cheque/DD, click here.

You could follow Alt News posts either via our Facebook page or by following us on Twitter or by subscribing to our E-mail updates.