{"id":27187,"date":"2019-02-02T20:27:15","date_gmt":"2019-02-02T14:57:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=27187"},"modified":"2025-06-23T13:53:39","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T08:23:39","slug":"no-rajiv-and-rahul-gandhi-did-not-offer-namaz-at-indira-gandhis-funeral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/no-rajiv-and-rahul-gandhi-did-not-offer-namaz-at-indira-gandhis-funeral\/","title":{"rendered":"No, Rajiv and Rahul Gandhi did not offer Islamic prayers at Indira Gandhi’s funeral"},"content":{"rendered":"

A photograph from a funeral is viral across social media platforms with claims that it shows Rajiv and Rahul Gandhi reading the Kalma<\/em> (Islamic prayer) at Indira Gandhi’s funeral.<\/p>\n

It was circulated on WhatsApp with the message, “\u0907\u0928\u094d\u0926\u093f\u0930\u093e \u0915\u0940 \u0932\u093e\u0936 \u0915\u0947 \u0938\u093e\u092e\u0928\u0947 \u0930\u093e\u0939\u0941\u0932 \u0914\u0930 \u0930\u093e\u091c\u0940\u0935 \u0917\u093e\u0902\u0927\u0940 \u0915\u0932\u092e\u093e \u092a\u0922 \u0930\u0939\u0947 \u0939\u0948\u0902 \u092b\u093f\u0930 \u092d\u0940 \u0939\u092e\u093e\u0930\u0947 \u0926\u0947\u0936 \u0915\u0947 \u0932\u094b\u0917\u094b\u0902 \u0915\u094b \u0932\u0917\u0924\u093e \u0939\u0948 \u0915\u093f \u092f\u0947 \u0932\u094b\u0917 \u092c\u094d\u0930\u093e\u0939\u094d\u092e\u0923 \u0939\u0948\u0902\u0964” (Even though Rahul and Rajiv Gandhi offered Islamic prayers in front of Indira Gandhi’s dead body, people say they are Brahmins.)”<\/p>\n

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Note that this is not the first time the image has gone viral. Several social media users had shared it with the same claim in 2020 and 2021 as well. Earlier instances from X and Facebook<\/a> have been added below:<\/p>\n

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\u092c\u0921\u093c\u0940 \u092e\u0941\u0936\u094d\u0915\u093f\u0932 \u0938\u0947 \u092f\u0939 \u092b\u093c\u094b\u091f\u094b \u092e\u093f\u0932\u0940 \u0939\u0948 \u0907\u0902\u0926\u093f\u0930\u093e \u0915\u0940 \u0932\u093e\u0936 \u0915\u0947 \u0938\u093e\u092e\u0928\u0947 \u0930\u093e\u0939\u0941\u0932 \u0914\u0930 \u0930\u093e\u091c\u0940\u0935 \u0917\u093e\u0901\u0927\u0940 \u0915\u0932\u092e\u093e \u092a\u0922\u093c \u0930\u0939\u0947 \u0939\u0948\u0902 \u092b\u093f\u0930 \u092d\u0940 \u0939\u092e\u093e\u0930\u0947 \u0926\u0947\u0936\u0935\u093e\u0938\u093f\u092f\u094b\u0902 \u0915\u094b \u0932\u0917\u0924\u093e \u0939\u0948 \u0915\u093f \u092f\u0947 \u0939\u093f\u0928\u094d\u0926\u0942 \u0939\u0948\u0902 \u0964 pic.twitter.com\/lFHPVDzw2i<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u0909\u0926\u092f \u092a\u094d\u0930\u0924\u093e\u092a \u0938\u093f\u0902\u0939 \ud83d\udea9 (@Udaythakur21) August 24, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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\u092c\u0921\u093c\u0940 #\u092e\u0941\u0936\u094d\u0915\u093f\u0932<\/a> \u0938\u0947 \u092f\u0939 #\u0924\u0938\u094d\u0935\u0940\u0930<\/a> \u092e\u093f\u0932\u0940 \u0939\u0948….#\u0907\u0902\u0926\u093f\u0930\u093e<\/a> \u0917\u093e\u0902\u0927\u0940 \u0915\u0940 #\u0932\u093e\u0936<\/a> \u0915\u0947 \u0938\u093e\u092e\u0928\u0947 #\u0930\u093e\u0939\u0941\u0932<\/a> \u0917\u093e\u0902\u0927\u0940 \u0914\u0930 #\u0930\u093e\u091c\u0940\u0935<\/a> \u0917\u093e\u0902\u0927\u0940 #\u0915\u0932\u092e\u093e<\/a> \u092a\u0922\u093c \u0930\u0939\u0947 \u0939\u0948\u0902
\n\u0914\u0930 \u092b\u093f\u0930 \u092d\u0940 #\u0932\u094b\u0917<\/a> \u0907\u0928\u094d\u0939\u0947\u0902 #\u0939\u093f\u0928\u094d\u0926\u0942<\/a> \u0938\u092e\u091d\u0924\u0947 \u0939\u0948\u0902…. pic.twitter.com\/URZnjfwpUJ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u0913\u092a\u0940 \u0936\u0947\u0916\u093e\u0935\u0924 (@op_shekhawat) January 15, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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In February 2020, BJP youth worker, Manoj Kumar Rana<\/a>, had shared the photograph. His post had received 17,000 shares then.<\/p>\n

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Fact Check: Photograph Not of Indira Gandhi’s Funeral<\/h4>\n

Upon reverse-searching the image, Alt News found a few sources that suggest the photograph was taken at the funeral of Pashtun independence activist Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, popularly known as Bacha Khan or ‘Frontier Gandhi’.<\/p>\n

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Rajeev Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Narsihma Rao at Bacha Khan’s funeral
\nPic from #BachakhanAwKhudaiKhidmatgari<\/a> vol 2 pic.twitter.com\/rUxOXyaJXS<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Mohsin Dawar (@mjdawar) January 26, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In 2016, a website named Skyscrapercity<\/a>\u00a0had also identified the photograph as Bacha Khan’s funeral in Peshawar.<\/p>\n

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\nBacha Khan had passed away on January 20, 1988. A\u00a0New York Times<\/a>\u00a0report published the next day had written that the Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi visited Peshawar to pay tributes to Khan.<\/p>\n

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Another article by\u00a0Outlook<\/a>\u00a0mentions Rajiv Gandhi’s attendance. We also found books on Google<\/a> mentioning that the former prime minister was present at Abdul Ghaffar Khan’s funeral.<\/p>\n

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Comparing Rahul Gandhi’s Age At the Time of Indira Gandhi’s and Ghaffar Khan’s Death<\/h4>\n

At the time of Indira Gandhi’s death, Rahul Gandhi was 14 years of age. When Abdul Ghaffar Khan died, Rahul Gandhi was 18. There are numerous photographs<\/a> of the Congress leader at her grandmother’s funeral, where he clearly looks much younger than in the viral image.<\/p>\n

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This suggests that the photo being circulated on social media does not represent Indira Gandhi’s funeral.<\/p>\n

Hindu Rituals Dollowed at Indira Gandhi’s Cremation Service<\/h4>\n

Former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi died on October 31, 1984, and the family followed Hindu traditions at her cremation. A\u00a0Washington Post<\/a>\u00a0report published on November 4, 1984 described the funeral ritual as,\u00a0“As Brahman pundits (those learned in Sanskrit and Hindu philosophy) chanted Vedic hymns and family members climbed the 10-foot-high platform to heap wooden logs atop the slowly smoking pyre, a collective moan of grief arose from thousands of mourners, followed abruptly by stillness as orange tongues of flames leaped higher.”<\/p>\n

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Photographs\u00a0shot at the time\u00a0by American stock photo agency Getty Images<\/a>\u00a0show Rajiv, Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi standing in front of Indira Gandhi’s burning pyre and performing Hindu rituals at the cremation.<\/p>\n

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It is therefore evident that Indira Gandhi was cremated following Hindu rituals. But the false claim is viral across social media platforms.<\/p>\n