Image of poster morphed to read ‘Brahmins are foreigners, their homes have ACs’

Preparations are already in full swing for the upcoming 2022 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. Meanwhile, in a bid to attract Brahmin voters, the Bahujan Samaj Party announced it would be organising a Brahmin Sammelan, which commenced on July 23 in Ayodhya. Against this backdrop, an image is being circulated widely on social media of a group of protestors on the street with posters. The posters read, “Bahujan Kranti Morcha” and “Brahmins are foreigners, they have ACs in their homes”.

Sharing the image, Twitter user Jenish Patel wrote, “Today, Mayawati’s party in UP is hosting a gathering of Brahmins. Yet, this photo clearly shows her views towards Brahmins while she was in power.”

आज यूपी मायावती की पार्टी ब्राह्मण सम्मेलन कर रही है,लेकिन जब सत्ता में थी तब ब्राह्मणों के खिलाफ़ उनकी क्या सोच थी इस तस्वीर में साफ़ दिख रहा है🙌ये सम्मेलन केवल हाथी के अंडा देने से बचने की कोशिश है,बाकी उनकी सीटे बढ़ते ही ब्राह्मणों की वही हालत होगी जो पहले उनके शासन में थी।🙏 pic.twitter.com/oPzd5Q3mmy

— Jenish Patel (@sir_Jenishpatel) July 23, 2021

A Facebook page called ‘BMW – The Untold Stories’ also shared the visuals.

A Twitter user posted the photo alongside another picture of Akhilesh Yadav’s residence. He asked whether Yadav would be considered a foreigner because he had air conditioners installed at his home.

The images are widespread on Facebook and Twitter.

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Morphed image

Alt News performed a keyword search on Facebook and found a similar poster from 2018 which reads, “Brahmins are foreigners, their DNA is Eurasian”.

On January 14, 2018, Facebook user Vinod Kumar made this image his profile picture and wrote, “Members of BAMCEF, Bahujan Kranti Morcha, DASFI, NAF, and the Valmiki Mahasabha protesting against the incident at Bhima Koregaon Maharashtra in Haryana’s Bhiwani district. ”

Apart from this, another Facebook user had shared more pictures of the protest held in Bhiwani, Haryana. This poster is seen in one of the images from the demonstration.

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In addition, another placard in the viral picture reads “One arrow, one quiver, all natives are equal”. It is also seen in another photo from the protest. Furthermore, similar-looking flags are also seen in the viral picture and these pictures from the site of the rally.

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Another keyword search led us to a report published in Dainik Jagran on January 15, 2018. The daily carried a photo of the demonstration featuring a poster with the slogan, “Brahmins are foreigners, their DNA is Eurasian.”

It is noteworthy that January 1, 2018, marked 200 years since the war between Peshwa Bajirao and the British in Bhima Koregaon. Every year on this day, a large number of people from the Dalit community visit Bhima Koregaon to pay homage to the Dalits who were martyred while fighting in the Peshwa army in 1818. On January 1, 2018, amid the annual gathering of large numbers of people from the Dalit community, violence broke out which led to one death.

This claim about the Brahmin community’s foreign origins has been made on the basis of a 2001 study. The Times of India also published a report on the study. It states that the DNA of the upper castes in India resembles that of Europeans. The word ‘यूरेशी’ means people who are associated with Europe and Asia, i.e. Eurasians. On this basis, the DNA of the Brahmin community has been called Eurasian. In a fact-check report by Aaj Tak, a Bahujan Samaj Morcha worker also mentioned the same.

Numerous Dalit organisations protested against the violence that broke out at Bhima Koregaon in 2018. An image of a poster carried at this demonstration was edited and shared on social media with a false claim.