Bangladesh’s Hindu minority have been seen as disproportionate supporters of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s autocratic government, but a photo circulating on social media showing her receiving a blessing from Hindu priests while in exile in neighboring India is forged. Hasina’s image was superimposed on a photo of Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who was talking to the priests at a meeting. religious location in September 2022.
The image, which has been shared more than 6,000 times, was shared on Facebook on November 21, 2024.
It supposedly shows Sheikh Hasina receiving a tilak – a mark on the forehead that is considered a blessing and also used to designate members of the Hindu faith – from a priest.
“Sister is Muslim in Bangladesh. Could this be a sign that you are Muslim?” reads text on image.
The caption said that Hasina is Muslim when she is in Bangladesh but Hindu when she is in India.
Screenshot of the fake Facebook post captured on December 18, 2024
Hasina, 77, fled by helicopter to neighboring India in August when a student-led uprising saw protesters flood the streets of the capital Dhaka, bringing a dramatic end to her rock-solid tenure.
Relations between Dhaka and New Delhi have been tense since the fall of Hasina – who was strongly backed by India (archived link).
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, leader of Bangladesh’s interim government, has condemned acts of “Indian aggression” that he said were aimed at destabilizing his government.
India, in turn, has accused Muslim-majority Bangladesh of failing to adequately protect its minority Hindu community – seen by some as disproportionate supporters of Hasina’s government – from reprisals (archived link).
The image that circulated online was also shared elsewhere on Facebook and TikTok, with comments on the posts suggesting users thought it was a real photo.
“That woman has always been against Muslims,” read one comment.
Another said: “This is her real face.”
However, the image has been changed from a photo taken two years before Hasina.
Superimposed image
A reverse image search on Google led to a similar photo – in place of Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi – published by Indian news channel ABP News on September 14, 2022 (archived link).
According to the Hindi-language report, Gandhi visited the shrine of social reformer Sree Narayana Guru at Sivagiri in Kerala.
The visit was a stop on his ‘long march’, which aimed to highlight social divisions and growing polarization between the majority Hindus and religious minorities under Prime Minister Narendra Modi (archived link).
Another keyword search revealed that the photo was shared on September 14, 2022, as part of a series of images on the official X account of Gandhi’s Congress Party (archived link).
Below is a screenshot comparison of the wrongly shared image (left) and the Congress Party photo (right):
Screenshot comparison of the wrongly shared image (left) and the photo of the Congress party (right)
Hasina’s likeness appears to have been superimposed on Gandhi as the opposition leader’s right hand and left shoulder are still visible in the falsely shared image.
Screenshot showing Gandhi’s remains, highlighted by AFP, remaining visible in the incorrectly shared image
The image of Hasina superimposed on Gandhi is a mirrored AFP photo.
Screenshot comparison between Hasina as she appears in the wrongly shared image (left) and the AFP photo from October 2019 (right)
The AFP photo is captioned: “Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) shakes hands with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ahead of a meeting in New Delhi on October 5, 2019.”
Hasina was in India on an official visit between October 3 and October 6, 2019 (archived link).
AFP has previously debunked other false claims against Hasina here and here.
