Video of a rally organised by the Limbu tribe in Sikkim to welcome PM Modi is falsely shared as a rally from Nepal
On 04 September 2025, the Nepal government banned 26 major social media platforms, sparking nationwide youth-led protests that turned violent from 08 September 2025 onwards, leaving at least 72 dead and over 2,100 injured as demonstrators clashed with security forces and targeted government properties, including the residence of the President. Despite lifting the ban on 09 September 2025, anger persisted, with protesters demanding Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli’s resignation over corruption and inequality. Oli stepped down the same day along with several ministers. Former Chief Justice Sushila Karki was appointed interim Prime Minister, the first woman to hold the post, with new elections set for 05 March 2026. The army was deployed to restore order, while the interim government announced ₹10 lakh compensation for victims’ families and free medical care for the injured, as youth-led groups continue to shape Nepal’s political direction (here, here, and here).
In this context, a video (here, here, here and here) went viral on social media showing people rallying with a banner of Indian Prime Minister Modi, with claims that this rally was held in Nepal. Let’s check the truth behind this video.
Claim: The viral video shows people in Nepal rallying in support of Indian Prime Minister Modi during the September 2025 protests.
Fact: The video is from Sikkim, not Nepal. It shows a rally organised by the Limbu tribe under the banner of ‘Sukhmi Yakthung Sapsok Songchumbho’ on 29 May 2025 in Gangtok, during PM Modi’s visit to mark the 50th anniversary of Sikkim’s statehood. Hence the claim is FALSE.
To verify the truth, we closely examined the video. The banner in the rally reads, “sikkimese limboo tribes warmly welcome to honourable prime minister of india shri narendra modi ji to the state of sikkim. sukhim ukhmi Yakthung SapSok Songchumbho,” indicating that the video was likely shot in Sikkim.
Further, a Google keyword search led us to several videos of the same event on different social media handles, including the Facebook page ‘Sukhmi Yakthung Sapsok Songchumbho,’ all showing the same banner and the same people holding it (here, here, here and here). These posts state that the rally was organised by the Limbu tribe of Sikkim under the banner of ‘Sukhmi Yakthung Sapsok Songchumbho’ on 29 May 2025, to mark the 50th anniversary of Sikkim’s statehood during Prime Minister Modi’s visit.
A side-by-side comparison of the viral video and the video from the Facebook page ‘Sukhmi Yakthung Sapsok Songchumbho’ confirms that both are the same.
Furthermore, we geo-located the rally site and confirmed it was shot near Reliance Smart Bazaar, 31 Singtam-Chungthang Road, Gangtok, Sikkim. This evidence establishes that the viral video is from Sikkim, not Nepal.
To sum up, the video of a rally organised by the Limbu tribe in Sikkim to welcome PM Modi has been falsely shared as a rally from Nepal.