Following the demise of PM Narendra Modi’s mother Heeraben Modi on 30 December 2022, an image of PM Modi with a tonsured head and clean shave is being widely shared on social media claiming that Modi has gone bald following the Hindu customs. Let’s verify the claim made in this post.
Claim: Image of PM Modi with tonsured head and clean shave after his mother’s death on 30 December 2022.
Fact: As per the latest visuals on 03 January 2023, PM Modi has not shaved his head and beard. Viral image of Modi with bald head has been viral since January 2021 as a meme. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
First, we searched for the latest visuals of PM Modi on the internet and found a live streamed video on the Official YouTube channel of Narendra Modi. This video shows PM Modi with regular beard and hair addressing 108th Indian Science Congress on 03 January 2023 at 10:30 AM via video conferencing.
Similarly, other videos and photos of Modi in public meetings since 30 December 2022 also do not show him with shaved head and beard. They can be seen here.
Coming to the viral image, we found that the same image has been viral at least since January 2021 as a meme. The original image was taken in December 2017 during the Parliament winter session.
To sum it up, as of 03 January 2023, PM Modi did not shave his head after his mother’s death; the viral image is a morphed one.
