Video of wrestler ‘The Great Khali’ eating mangoes falsely linked to Kanwar Yatra ‘nameplate’ controversy
The Uttar Pradesh government recently issued an order for shop owners & vendors along the Kanwar Yatra route to display their names, which has sparked controversy (here, here). In this context, a video of renowned wrestler ‘The Great Khali’ eating mangoes from a Muslim vendor’s cart is being widely shared across social media, claiming that Khali is protesting against the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision by eating mangoes at a Muslim vendor’s shop (here, here, & here). Sharing the same visuals of Khali eating mangoes, some posts claim that Khali got sick due to food poisoning from eating roadside mangoes that had a lot of pesticides and chemicals (here, here, & here). Through this article, let’s fact-check the claims made in these posts.
Claim: By eating mangoes at a Muslim vendor’s shop, wrestler Khali protested against the Uttar Pradesh government’s order for shop owners along the Kanwar Yatra route to display their names. He fell sick because of consuming these roadside mangoes that had a lot of pesticides and chemicals
Fact: The video of wrestler ‘The Great Khali’ eating mangoes has no connection with the Kanwar Yatra nameplate directive. The video was posted on 11 July 2024, on Khali’s official Instagram page, which predates the Muzaffarnagar Police’s nameplate directive issued on 17 July 2024. There are no reports about Great Khali getting sick due to food poisoning from eating roadside mangoes from Muslim vendors. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The viral video features a watermark of the Instagram account ‘@THEGREATKHALI’. Taking this as a cue, we located the Instagram account with this username and found that it is the official Instagram handle of wrestler Khali, also known as Dalip Singh Rana. We looked at this account in detail and found that the same viral video (archived link) was posted on 11 July 2024.
According to reports, the Muzaffarnagar police released the notification for displaying the names of eatery owners on the Kanwar Yatra route on 17 July 2024. Furthermore, the UP government mandated the order across the state on 19 July 2024. From this, it is clear that Khali’s video predates the Uttar Pradesh government’s order that eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route should display the names of the owners and staff outside the shops and no connection with this controversy.
We did not find any reports indicating that The Great Khali got sick due to food poisoning from eating roadside mangoes from Muslim vendors. Moreover, we found several videos and photos on his official Instagram page where he appeared active (here and here). He even attended the wedding celebrations of Anant Ambani on 13 July 2024 (here). According to reports, Khali joined the BJP in 2022 and participated in various election campaigns for the party.
The Kanwar Yatra ‘nameplate’ controversy:
The Kanwar Yatra is an annual pilgrimage undertaken by Shiva devotees known as Kanwarias or “Bhole”, during which they travel to key Hindu pilgrimage sites such as Haridwar, Gaumukh, and Gangotri in Uttarakhand and Ajgaibinath in Sultanganj, Bhagalpur, Bihar, to fetch holy water from the Ganges River.
The Muzaffarnagar police released a notification on 17 July 2024, requiring the display of eatery owners’ names along the Kanwar Yatra route. This directive was criticized by political leaders and celebrities. In response, the Muzaffarnagar Police issued a new directive making the display of names ‘voluntary’ (archived here), stating, “Shopkeepers selling food items along the Kanwar Yatra route have been requested to voluntarily display the names of their owners and employees.”
Similarly, the Uttarakhand government also mandated that shop owners along the Yatra route display their names to assist pilgrims. In Madhya Pradesh, the Ujjain Municipal Corporation instructed shop owners to display their names and mobile numbers.
Three petitions were filed challenging the directives from the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments. The petitioners include the NGO Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, Delhi University academic Apoorvanand Jha, and columnist Aakar Patel. On 22 July 2024, the Supreme Court issued an interim order halting the requirement for shopkeepers in Uttar Pradesh to display their names. The court stated that owners should only list the types of food served and issued notices to the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh. On 26 July 2024, the Supreme Court further extended the stay on the directives from the Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh governments requiring eateries to display the names of their owners and staff.
To sum up, video of wrestler ‘The Great Khali’ eating mangoes falsely linked to Kanwar Yatra ‘nameplate’ controversy.