By Srijit Das
A video showing a woman attending a protest against the alleged narcoterrorism by the Kuki community of Manipur is being shared online with the false claim that she is the Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey who is seen attending an event backed by the Hindutva organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
BOOM found that the woman in the video is Shabnam Jain Kundra, a member of the right-wing organisation Hindu Sena. We also spoke to the event organiser Sohan Giri who confirmed that the Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey was not present at the event.
Manipur has been reeling under a series of ethnic clashes that broke out between the majority Meitei and minority Kuki-Zo community since May this year. The violent clashes took lives of more than 180 people, and left scores homeless. Reports of three tribal men being killed in a fresh bout of violence in Ukhrul have also started circulating, after a two-week lull in the state. Meanwhile, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has reportedly ordered an inquiry from Churachandpur deputy commissioner over recent display of weapons at an Independence Day parade in the north-eastern state.
The video is being shared with the caption, "Why is the Manipur Governor attending a RSS sponsored meeting spreading hate against the minority Kukis?"
Click here to view an archive of the post.
Another X (formerly Twitter) user posted the video with the text, "Rahul Gandhi was prophetic in saying BJP -RSS ideology burnt down Manipur. Governor of Manipur attends RSS sponsored meeting in a hate driven agenda against the minority Kukis".
Click here to view the post.
The video was also tweeted with the text: Why is the Manipur Governor👇attending a RSS sponsored meeting spreading hate against the minority Kukis? Click here for an archive of the tweet.
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Fact Check
BOOM first performed a keyword search to know the details about the incident and found another video of the event; the video was shared on the X platform on August 10, 2023.
Click here to view the post.
Several pro-Hindutva organisations including Hindu Sena, Bharat Raksha Manch and Rashtrahit Sarvopari Sangathan can be seen on the banner of the event.
Taking a cue, BOOM reached out to Shashank Chopra, Rashtriya Mantri and north India head of Bharat Raksha Manch, who identified the woman as Shabnam Jain Kundra.
Chopra said, "I was present at the event which took place on August 8. The woman, who can be seen in the video, is Hindu Sena's national program coordinator Shabnam Jain Kundra."
We then reached out to Sohan Giri who organised the event. Giri told BOOM, "I organised the event on behalf of Rastrhit Sarvopari Sangathan. The event was organsied at Sainik Firm in Saket, Delhi. The governor of Manipur was not present at the event. Claims that the event was sponsored by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) are also not correct. Neither RSS funded the event, nor we mentioned their name on the banner present at the event."
Below are images from the event, shared by Giri.
Click here to view the post.
Further, Manipur Police also posted on August 19 refuting the viral claim. They wrote, "The lady seated is not the Governor of Manipur as has been posted. 1. FIR will be taken up at cyber crime PS 2. Twitter has been requested to take down the post".
Click here to view the post.
Raj Bhavan of Manipur in a tweet also called out the claims with the video. They wrote, "What has been written in the said tweet about Manipur Governor attending the RSS meeting is completely wrong and misleading. The woman in the video is not the Governor of Manipur, nor has the Governor attended any such meeting."
BOOM has reached out to Shabnam Jain Kundra for a comment. The article will be updated as and when we get a response.
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