Thousands of Sikhs Protesting Against NRC, Police Absent: Fact Check

Story:

Thousands of Sikhs in Punjab Protesting against NRC, No Policemen Present.

Other Versions

(Hindi)

एनआरसी के खिलाफ आज पंजाब में विरोध प्रदर्शन के दौरान कोई भी पुलिसकर्मी मौजूद नहीं था

Fact Check:

A video is circulating widely on social media claiming it shows thousands of Sikhs in Punjab Protesting against NRC and no Policemen present to stop them. The video in fact shows large group of Sikh people holding swords and sticks in their hands, raising various slogans and marching over a bridge. However, the claims as such are not true and explained here.

Not Video of Sikhs Protesting Against NRC

The video over two-minute duration and the claims against National Register of Citizens (NRC) bill is doing rounds on Facebook and Twitter among others. Amidst several protests after passing of Citizenship Amendment Act Bill and proposed NRC, viewers thought the incident portrayed with the video is true. However, the video is an old one not related to protests against NRC or CAA bill.

Punjab Separatist Rally

We found the same video appeared on YouTube in November 2019 with the description: Punjab Separatist Protest – Khalistan 2020 Referendum. Considering it and the slogans raised in the video, it is clear what you see in the video is a pro Khalistan rally in India from past. Khalistan movement is a Sikh separatist movement seeking to create a separate country called Khalistān (The Land of the Khalsa) in the Punjab region, as a homeland for Sikhs. The proposed country would also consist part of Pakistan.

In comment section, the YouTube video uploader mentioned the location of the rally as Beas River Bridge in Indian Punjab. Likewise, we could find the incident in the video is an old one from May 2016. Thousands of Sikh hardliners organized a rally at the Beas Bridge on the National Highway 1, raising slogans against the Shiv Sena and the state government. The rally was conducted challenging Shiv Sena. On the other hand, Police from Amritsar (rural) and Kapurthala made heavy security arrangements to prevent any untoward incident at the time.

So, the claims that the video shows thousands of Sikhs protesting against NRC and no police were present to stop them are just hoaxes. Hindi language Dainik Bhaskar website bhaskar.com also refuted the false claims about the old video. After the introduction of CAA Bill and consequent protests, many fake news ‘reports’ and misinformation are floating around on internet space.

Hoax or Fact:

Hoax.