AIUDF’s Badruddin Ajmal didn’t say India will become Islamic nation, 2019 speech clipped

A 36-second clip of All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) founder Badruddin Ajmal is widely shared on social media. In the video, Ajmal can be heard saying in Assamese, “For 800 years, Mughal Emperors had ruled India. Will make this country an Islamic republic. Who would form Ministry? Our Mahagathbandhan. Congress-UPA Mahagathbandhan would form the government, Insha’Allah. And in this government, your party AIUDF, with the symbol of lock and key, would be a partner. In the entire country, there wouldn’t have been even one Hindu. All would have been made Musalmaan.”

The video was shared by India TV anchor Archana Singh.

ये कांग्रेस के धर्म निरपेक्ष बदरुद्दीन अजमल हैं कभी आतंकी के एनकाउंटर पर आंसू निकालते हैं कभी ऐसे लोगों से गठबंधन,कांग्रेस वोट के लिए कुछ भी कर सकती है। #AssamAssemblyElections2021 #Congress #AIUDF pic.twitter.com/7OLIMz5HKO

— Archana Singh (@AnaArchana) March 10, 2021

Other journalists who shared it were DD News consulting editor Ashok Shrivastav. His tweet gained close to 3,000 retweets. Similarly, it was also posted by ABP News anchor Astha Kaushik. News Nation consulting editor Deepak Chaurasia did not share the video but quoted Ajmal from the video clip – “The Mughals ruled India for several years and in the future also, an Islamic nation will be set up in India”. (भारत पर बरसों मुगलों ने शासन किया, और भविष्य में भी भारत इस्लामिक राष्ट्र बनेगा” :- बदरुद्दीन अजमल)

Guwahati-based News Live whose chairman and managing director is Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, wife of BJP MLA Himanta Biswa Sarma, posted the clip on Facebook.

Fact-check

The viral video is a clipped version of Ajmal’s complete speech at Assam’s Barpeta district in 2019. The full speech is over 15 minutes long. The viral video has been made by merging four segments from the 5:50 mark to the 8:15 mark in the original video.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxxiNC3OqfU?start=350]

The following section is an English transcription of Ajmal’s speech from 5:50 mark to 8:15 mark. The bold section highlights the bits used to make the viral video. The timestamp denotes the bit from which the original video was clipped to form the 36-second clip.

“For 800 years, Mughal Emperors had ruled India [5:50 to 5:58] and they did not have the guts to even dream that this nation will become an Islamic nation [6:02 – 6:05]. If they wanted, there wouldn’t have been even one Hindu in India. All would have been made Musalmaan [6:10 – 6:15]. But did they do that? (crowd screams “NO”). They didn’t even try. They didn’t have the guts. Then the English ruled for 200 years. They also didn’t try to make India a Christian state. Did they have the guts? (crowd screams “NO”). After the country gained independence, Congress ruled 55 years out of the 70. From Jawaharlal Nehru, Shastri, Rajeev Gandhi, Manmohan Singh to Narasimha Rao – none of the congress leaders dreamt that we will make India a Hindu nation. But Modi ji, don’t have this dream. Your dream will only turn out to be a lie. You (addressing the crowd) give such answers to Modi ji, BJP, RSS, Himanta Biswa and party and vote for lock and key that Modi ji does not become Prime Minister. Who will form the ministry? Our Mahagathbandhan. Congress-UPA Mahagathbandhan would form the government, Insha’Allah. And in this government, your party AIUDF, with the symbol of lock and key, would be a partner [7:56 to 8:12].”

Thus, a maliciously clipped video of All India United Democratic Front founder Badruddin Ajmal was shared to create a false impression that Ajmal suggested India will become an Islamic nation under Magathbandhan.

Clipped video made viral by regional news and right-wing influencers

Assam-based news channel DY365, Voice of Assam (followed by Prime Minister Modi) and VSK Assam were the regional channels that amplified the video.

BJP Assam leader Pijush Janti Hazarika shared the video on Facebook.

Apart from several right-wing Twitter accounts— Hindu Ecosystem, Legal Rights Observatory, Kreately, @abdullah_0ma, @SouleFacts (followed by Prime Minister Modi), and Twitter user @vikrantkumar — the video was also tweeted by BJP member Major Surendra Poonia (Retd) and RSS member Ratan Sharda.