In the context of the recently concluded Indian Independence Day, a video depicting a tricolour flag atop a building, resembling the Indian flag but featuring a crescent and star on all colour bands, is being extensively shared on social media, with claims that the video shows Muslims in Alwar, Rajasthan, defacing the Indian flag. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Visuals of tricolour flag atop a building in Rajasthan’s Alwar resembling the Indian flag but featuring a crescent and star on all colours.
Fact: Viral video was filmed at Chorbhatthi-Kala village in the Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh in October 2022. It is one of the various flags utilized during the Eid Milad-un-Nabi festival. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Conducting a reverse image search of the keyframes extracted from the viral video led us to a news report published on the website of the Chhattisgarh-based news outlet Lokswar on 06 October 2022. According to this report, the viral video was filmed at Chorbhatthi-Kala village on the Bilaspur-Ganiyari-Kota Road in the state of Chhattisgarh. Moreover, we observed a better version of the viral video on the website, where the words “Yousuf Mobile shop and…” are visible on the building.
Taking a cue from this information, we utilized Google Maps to pinpoint the location. Upon comparing the street view visuals with those from the viral video, it becomes evident that the flag is affixed to the building situated in Chorbhatti-Kala village in the Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh.
As we couldn’t reach out to the Yousuf Mobile shop, we contacted the organizers of the nearby Amitabh Traders. They confirmed that the flag seen in the video was raised by Yousuf during the Eid Milad-un-Nabi festival in October 2022 and clarified that it is not an Indian flag, but rather one of the various flags utilized during the Eid Milad-un-Nabi festival. Corroborating this detail, our further research has revealed that the flag seen in the viral video has been utilized in various Milad-un-Nabi processions (here, here & here) across the country in the past.
To sum it up, the viral video depicts a flag associated with Milad-un-Nabi being raised on a building in Chhattisgarh.
