A video of former J&K chief minister and Jammu-Kashmir National Conference (NC) leader Farooq Abdullah singing a Ram bhajan is making the rounds on social media. The Hindi text superimposed on the video reads, – “The incredible transformation of Farooq Abdullah after the abrogation of Article 370”. A Twitter user shared the video and mocked that Abdullah has ‘Hindu ancestry’. It racked up more than 4,000 views at the time of writing. (Archive link)
The video has been shared by a few users on Facebook. (Link 1, Link 2)
It is also circulating on WhatsApp with the same claim. Alt News received several requests to fact-check the visuals on its WhatsApp helpline number.
A YouTube channel named VK News had shared this video with a similar claim back in 2019.
Old video
We performed a keyword search on YouTube and found the video posted on September 21, 2009. The channel that uploaded the video said that it was shot on April 28, 2001. It also said that the video was taken from a Satsang in Jammu where Farooq Abdullah performed a devotional song.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y0xf3dWD3w]
Article 370 was abrogated on August 5, 2019 thus, cannot be related to the video.
We also found during our research that the former J&K chief minister had performed Ram bhajans on several occasions in 2013, 2017 and 2018 before the abrogation of Article 370.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpbXeaYQCus]
