Amid the ongoing unrest in Bangladesh (here, here), a video showing a huge rally is being widely shared across social media platforms, claiming that the visuals depict a rally held by Hindus in Dhaka, Bangladesh to protest against recent attacks on them (here, here, here, & here). The video shows a large crowd on the road, with most people wearing saffron-coloured clothes and raising slogans in support of former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina. In this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video showing a recent rally held by Hindus in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to protest against attacks on them amid the ongoing 2024 unrest in the country.
Fact: The viral video dates back to September 2023 and does not show any protest rally held by Hindus in Bangladesh. The viral video shows a rally organized by the Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of Sheikh Hasina’s party, the Awami League, in September 2023. This rally took place during a meeting organized by the Bangladesh Chhatra League at Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka, where Sheikh Hasina was the chief guest in September 2023. According to recent reports, hundreds of people protested in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, on 09 August 2024, and later in other parts of the country, against violence targeting the minority Hindu community since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina quit and fled on 05 August 2024. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Bangladesh has witnessed deadly protests that began in July 2024 as an anti-quota movement. Recently, these mass protests have evolved into a major anti-government uprising. The situation escalated when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country. Protesters forcefully entered her official residence in Dhaka, looting and vandalizing the premises (here & here).
Reports indicate that mobs attacked the homes and businesses of minorities, particularly Hindus, looting their valuables (here). There are also reports of Hindu homes and temples being vandalized and set on fire (here).
According to recent reports, hundreds of people protested in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, on 09 August 2024, and later in other parts of the country, against violence targeting the minority Hindu community since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina quit and fled on 05 August 2024 (here, here, & here). However, the visuals in the viral video do not show any recent protests by Hindus in Bangladesh.
To gather more details about this viral video, we conducted a reverse image search using keyframes from the video. This search led us to a post shared on the Instagram handle (@sheikhtonmoymp) of Awami League leader and former MP Sheikh Tanmoy on 02 September 2023, featuring a photo that includes one of the keyframes. According to the post, these visuals show a student gathering organized by the Bangladesh Chhatra League at Suhrawardy Udyan, where Sheikh Hasina was the chief guest.
Subsequently, we found more photos with similar visuals of the rally shared on the Facebook page of the Netrokona district unit of the Bangladesh Chhatra League on 01 September 2023. According to the caption, this event was organized by the Bangladesh Chhatra League(BCL), Gafargaon Upazila Chhatra League, and Municipal Chhatra League in memory of the ‘Father of the Nation’ Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatun Necha Mujib.
One can see the name ‘Anarul Islam’ written on the viral video. Taking this as a cue and searching further, we found that the same viral video was uploaded on a YouTube channel named ‘Anarul Islam’ on 02 September 2023. According to the video’s description, this rally had come from Gafargaon Upazila to join the gathering at Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka. The rally was led by Fahmi Gulandaz Babel, a former Member of Parliament from the Mymensingh seat of the Gafargaon Upazila area. This channel also posted other videos of the rally and the meeting held at Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka in September 2023.
we also found a similar video of the rally uploaded by Channel 24 on YouTube on 01 September 2023, titled ‘Vow to resist BNP in Chhatra League rally’ Awami League Somabesh BSL | Channel 24′. According to the video’s description, BCL leaders and activists from different parts of the country participated in the student gathering at Suhrawardy Udyan(garden) on 01 September 2023. Based on all this information, it is clear that the visuals in the viral video show a rally organized by the Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of Sheikh Hasina’s party, the Awami League, in September 2023.
To sum it up, an old video of a Chhatra League rally held in Bangladesh is being falsely shared as a recent rally held by Hindus in Bangladesh to protest against attacks on them amid the ongoing unrest in 2024.
