Old video falsely viral as ‘Bangladeshi Muslims’ in Assam demanding separate state

A video of a group of Muslim protestors clashing with the police has been shared with the claim that “Bangladeshi Muslims” in Assam are demanding a separate state.

आसाम में बांग्लादेशी मुसलमानों ने अलग देश बनाने के लिए जुलूस निकाला और उनका हाल देखिए🤣🤣👇🏻👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/9LMn2ela7x

— sudhir kumar suri (@SudhirKumarSuri) April 24, 2022

Alt News has also received requests on its WhatsApp helpline (+9176000 11160 ) to verify the claim.

The same video was also shared last year.

*परम आदरणीय असम के मुख्यमंत्री हिंदू हृदय सम्राट हेमंत विश्व शर्मा जी ने बांग्लादेशियों की तबीयत से ठुकाई करवाई। क्यों??? ये जानने के लिए वीडियो देखें🔥🔥🙏🙏🚩🚩👍👍* pic.twitter.com/vt5WPn1EHM

— सौरभ श्रीवास्तव 🚩हिंदी🚩 हिंदू 🚩हिंदुस्थान (@Sourabh3507) June 9, 2021

Several people wrote that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took action against “Bangladeshis”.

परम आदरणीय असम के मुख्यमंत्री हिंदू हृदय सम्राट हेमंत विश्व शर्मा जी ने बांग्लादेशियों की तबीयत से ठुकाई करवाई। क्यों??? ये जानने के लिए वीडियो देखें🔥🔥🙏🙏🚩🚩👍👍👇 pic.twitter.com/ZoOthIivCf

— 🚩🇮🇳उमा शंकर राघव 🇮🇳🚩8k (@UmaShankar2054) June 10, 2021

The captions thank Sarma for the strict measures.

The video was viral on Twitter and Facebook and Alt News received several requests on its WhatsApp helpline number in 2021 as well.

It is in fact been circulating since 2017.

2017 video of protest against ‘D voters’ tag imposed on Assam residents

The video doesn’t show the police or the protestors wearing masks thus, hinting that it may not be recent. Moreover, the fact that it has been circulating on social media since 2017 itself proves the incident is not recent. A keyword search on YouTube took us to a channel that had posted the same video on July 2, 2017. The channel said that people were protesting in Goalpara, Assam against the ‘doubtful citizens and voters’ tag imposed by the government. A youngster died in an alleged police firing during the protest. According to Scroll, the video was shot by Assam resident Hussain Ahmed Madani.

Madani uploaded the video on his Facebook profile on June 30, 2017. He told Scroll that he wasn’t a part of the protest but took the video when he saw the commotion. The video was shot when a group of protestors approached National Highway 37 in Khutamari village of Assam’s Goalpara district.

“The protesters – between 400 and 500, according to police estimates – are holding a banner and a few placards and raising slogans. “We will not tolerate harassment of Indian Muslim citizens – Inquilab Zindabad,” they can be heard saying,” reported Scroll.

Newsclick similarly wrote that the protestors were demonstrating against the alleged harassment of D (doubtful) voters by the Border Police and Foreigners Tribunals. ‘D-voter’ is a category of voters in Assam who have been disenfranchised by the Election Commission upon failing to produce legal documents of citizenship.

Protestors are holding a banner that roughly reads, “People listed in the ‘D voters’ list are genuine and should be removed. 40,000 of these Indians deserve justice and the list should be redone. The disenfranchised population should also be provided with government jobs and security. National Highway 37 should be blocked on June 30, 2017, from 8 am to 12 pm.”

A five-year-old video of a protest in Assam against ‘doubtful citizens and voters’ tag imposed by the government has been falsely shared as ‘Bangladeshi Muslim infiltrators’ demanding a separate state.