Old video circulated to claim protest against Diwali celebrations at Jagannath University
A video of a procession was recently posted on X, claiming that Jamaat-affiliated students have begun a protest against Diwali celebrations on the Jagannath University campus. However, Dismislab’s fact-check has found that the video is old.
Two videos were posted on November 7 from an X account named Megh Updates. The post’s caption reads, “BANGLADESH: Ahead of Diwali, Jamaat-affiliated radical students at Dhaka’s Jagannath University have launched protests against Diwali celebrations on campus, reportedly branding the festival an act of ‘Hindutva aggression’ and ‘Indian aggression.’ They are opposing Hindu students celebrating their festival, even as other religious celebrations, including Eid, are held on campus. The irony? Jagannath University traces its origins to Hindu Zamindar Kishorilal Chowdhury” (verbatim).
In the first video, which is 25 seconds long, a person is seen speaking in front of the microphones of multiple news media outlets (Daily Inqilab, Shomoyer Alo). He is heard saying, “No Hindutvavadi aggression, no Indian aggression will be tolerated at Jagannath University. We will not accept it. Here, in a university of a country with 92 percent Muslims, the university must be run nurturing the customs, culture and heritage of Muslims, as is its due. If anyone wants to show any deviation from this, the people of Bangladesh will give a stern response, InshaAllah” (translated from Bangla).
In the second video, which is 22 seconds long, a procession filled with slogans is seen. The various slogans include, “Narayé Takbir, Allahu Akbar,” “Delhi or Dhaka, Dhaka Dhaka,” and “Your right and mine, who has the power to stop it; the right to eat beef, who has the power to stop it” (translated from Bangla).
As of the publication of this report, the post had been viewed more than 22,000 times and reposted 270 times. In the comments, one person wrote, “Cut off their Ganges water. They will be seen chanting Ram Ram” (translated from Hindi). Another wrote, “Likewise, #Indians should protest #muslims celebrating their #festivals, in #India, at least for one year” (verbatim).
A reverse image search using key frames from the video led to a news report published in Samakal. The photo attached to this report matches the scenes in the second video completely, including the location of the procession, the participants, and their clothing. The headline of this report, published on October 15, reads, “JnU in turmoil over ‘Delhi or Dhaka’ slogan, protest on campus against ban on cow slaughter” (translated from Bangla).
The report reveals that the Jagannath University (JnU) Central Students’ Union (JnUCSU) held a protest rally against the directive to refrain from animal slaughter on the Jagannath University campus. At around 10pm on Wednesday (October 14), general students also took part, alongside JnUCSU leaders, in the program held on the university campus.
A relevant keyword search found a video report published on the same day on The Dhaka News’s Facebook page. Every scene and the sequence of scenes in this 22-second video match exactly with the second video in the recently circulated post. In the description of this report, The Dhaka News wrote, “Jagannath University in tu’rmoil at midnight over decision to ba’n animal sla’ugh’ter” (translated from Bangla).
In a further search, a 17-minute-36-second video was found on BD24 Report’s Facebook page. Broadcast live on October 14, the 25 seconds from 10 minutes 22 seconds to 10 minutes 47 seconds of this video match completely with the first of the recently circulated videos. In the two videos, the speaker’s remarks, the microphones placed in front of him, the clothing of the speaker and the people around him, and the building in the background all match. The description of this live broadcast reads, “JnUCSU protest procession against the con’troversial directive of the JnU administration” (translated from Bangla).
Incidentally, on November 8, Shyama Puja, the second-largest religious festival of the Hindu community, is being celebrated. The auspicious Diwali festival is also being observed at the same time.
In other words, the video is from a protest rally against the administration’s directive to refrain from animal slaughter on the Jagannath University campus, and not a protest against the celebration of Diwali.
All social media captions, quotations, and news excerpts in this article have been translated into English from the languages in which they were originally posted or published.
