As Muslim-majority Bangladesh saw a wave of reprisals against its minority Hindu community, a video was shared online falsely claiming to show the screening of a documentary in the country about the destruction of a centuries-old mosque in neighboring India . A member of the political party that organized the event told AFP that it was actually held in India to mark the 32nd anniversary of the mosque’s destruction.
“Large screens are being installed in Bangladesh showing the demolition of Babri Masjid to incite the Muslim community towards Hindus and cause terrible bloodshed!” read a Hindi-language Facebook post shared on December 18, 2024.
The post included a four-minute, nine-second video showing a crowd watching a documentary about Babri Masjid, a 16th-century mosque that was destroyed by tens of thousands of supporters of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and others Hindu leaders. groups in 1992 to pave the way for a temple (archived link).
Screenshot of the fake post, taken on December 18, 2024
Religious relations in Bangladesh have been turbulent since a student-led revolution in August toppled autocratic former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to neighboring India.
The video surfaced with similar claims on Facebook and X after the 32nd anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6.
However, the display shown in the fake video actually took place in Mumbra, Maharashtra in Western India.
Screening in India
A reverse image search of keyframes on Google, followed by keyword searches, found the same video published on December 6 on the official YouTube account of the Maharashtra chapter of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) (archived link ).
The SDPI is the political wing of the Popular Front of India, a group banned in 2022 over alleged ‘terrorism’ links (archived link).
“Babri Masjid Timeline Exhibition | SDPI Mumbra at Darul Falah | A journey through history” was the title.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the video in the fake posts (left) and the clip shared on SDPI’s YouTube account (right):
Screenshot comparison of the video in the fake posts (left) and the clip shared on SDPI’s YouTube account (right):
SDPI flags – a red and green banner with a star and the party’s name – are also visible in the video.
Below is a comparison of the flag as seen in the clip (left) and at a 2021 meeting in the AFP archives (right) (archived link):
Comparison of the SDPI flag at the start of the video (left) and the same banner seen at a 2021 meeting in AFP’s archives (right)
Azhar Tamboli, member of the National Work Committee of SDPI confirmed to AFP that the video shows the documentary screening organized by SDPI in Mumbra.
“The Babri Masjid Timeline exhibition was organized for the public near Darul Falah Mosque in Accord Naka in Mumbra area of Thane, Maharashtra on December 6, on the 32nd anniversary of the demolition of Babri Masjid,” informed he told AFP on December 20. 2024.
Similar videos, taken from different angles, were shared by the SDPI on other social media sites such as Instagram and X (archived link here and here).
Images on Google Street View show that the display took place in Mumbra and the Darul Falah Mosque can be seen in the background (archived link).
Below is a screenshot comparison between a scene from the footage (left) and an image of the area on Google Street View (right) with corresponding elements highlighted by AFP:
Screenshot comparison between a scene from the footage (left) and an image of the area on Google Street View (right) with corresponding elements highlighted by AFP
AFP has debunked other disinformation related to religious relations in Bangladesh following Hasina’s ouster here and here.
