A photo collage featuring notable individuals such as Mahesh Bhatt, Swami Agnivesh, Aacharya Pramod Krishnam, and Congress leader Digvijay Singh is being shared across various social media platforms. Sharing the image, a post alleges that these four individuals are masquerading as Hindus while being Muslims. Additionally, the post reveals the Muslim names of these individuals. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Mahesh Bhat, Swami Agnivesh, Aacharya Pramod Krishnam, and Congress leader Digvijay Singh are masquerading as Hindus while being Muslims.
Fact: Aacharya Pramod Krishnam and Congress leader Digvijay Singh were born as Hindus and actively follow the Hindu faith. Swami Agnivesh, born into a Hindu Brahmin family, chose to renounce his caste, religion, family, and all material possessions, embracing the path of a sanyasi. On the other hand, reports suggest that Mahesh Bhatt converted to Islam in order to marry Soni Razdan but is currently not practicing the Islamic faith. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Contrary to the viral claim, Aacharya Pramod Krishnam and Congress leader Digvijay Singh are born Hindus practicing Hinduism. Swami Agnivesh, a born Hindu, renounced his religious identity. Mahesh Bhat, born to a Hindu father and Muslim mother, reportedly embraced Islam to marry Soni Razdan, but he is not currently practicing the Islamic faith. Further, let’s look into the religious inclination of each individual below.
Swami Agnivesh:
Swami Agnivesh, an activist, and spiritual leader, hails from Andhra Pradesh and was born into a Brahmin family. However, he renounced his name, caste, religion, and family, as well as all his possessions and property, embracing the life of a sanyasi as per his website notes.
He was elected as the President of the World Council of Arya Samaj (Sarvadeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha) in 2004 and remained in the chair till 2014. News articles that reported that Swami Agnivesh was born to a Hindu family can be read here and here.
Aacharya Pramod Krishnam:
Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam who contested the 2019 general elections from the Lucknow Parliament constituency, was born on 04 January 1965, in a Brahmin family in Bihar. In his election affidavit, Acharya Pramod Krishnam stated his name as such and identified his late father as Jaswanth Singh. No additional aliases were mentioned in the document.
Previously, when similar news circulated on social media platforms, falsely claiming that he comes from a Muslim family and his original name is Gul Shamad Khan, Factly debunked the news and categorically classified it as false.
Digvijay Singh:
According to the biography on the Election Commission of India website, Digvijay Singh was born in Indore on 28 February 1947, to the late Shri Balbhadra Singh and late Shrimati Aparna Kumari. Moreover, he self-identifies as a follower of the Hindu faith.
Furthermore, his election affidavit reaffirms these details, and there is no evidence or information suggesting his affiliation with Islam or any aliases associated with him.
Mahesh Bhatt:
According to news reports, Bhatt was born to a Muslim mother, Shirin Mohammad Ali, and a Hindu father, Nanabhai Bhatt, out of wedlock. Speaking to the media, Bhatt revealed that his mother was Muslim and had to disguise herself as a Hindu. ‘Reportedly, his mother was a Shia Muslim and after the partition, lived in Mumbai’s Shivaji Park, which was a Hindu-dominated area. Hence, his mother used to hide her religion,’ Bhatt stated.
Further, according to news reports, later in life, Bhatt converted to Islam to marry Soni Razdan but is not currently practicing Islam. News reports discussing Bhatt’s religious inclination can be read here, here, and here.
To sum it up, these prominent people are not masquerading as Hindus while being Muslims. They are Hindus by birth.
