“Pakistan’s flag is imprinted on the tanga owned by Noor Alam and Wasir that they have been using for 20 years and they claim they are unaware (that Pakistan’s flag is imprinted on the tanga). They have a problem saying ‘Hindustan Zindabad’ but have no shame saying ‘Pakistan Zindabad’,” a man alleges in a video posted by Newsroom Post
The man harasses two poor tanga drivers from the Muslim community, forcing them to chant ‘Hindustan Zindabad’, ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and ‘Pakistan Murdabad’. He continues to hound them to sloganeer even after the poor drivers make the chants. Angered by the unreasonable coverage, Wasir questions the man why should they make the chants and ends the conversation by saying that he will hail both countries.
लखनऊ में एक तांगे पर पाकिस्तान जैसे झंडे का वीडियो वायरल, पाक मुर्दाबाद के नारे पर छिड़ गई बहस pic.twitter.com/uF7h9Brdir
— Newsroom Post (@NewsroomPostCom) August 24, 2021
Dainik Jagran also carried a story claiming that the tanga was painted with the flag of Pakistan.
The video was earlier viral on social media.
The earliest instance that we could locate was shared at 9:25 AM on August 24 by a Twitter user.
@योगी आदित्यनाथ
लखनऊ तेलीबाग के सामने तागे पर दिखा पाकिस्तान का लगा झंडा, और तो और यह पाकिस्तान जिंदाबाद के नारे लगा रहे हैं, इनको इतना शेयर करिए ताकि योगी जी इनकी खबर ले सके, जय श्री राम🚩🚩 pic.twitter.com/pSMYZDEqky— Parveen (@Parveen18921993) August 24, 2021
Pro-BJP propaganda website Kreately shared the video tagging UP and Lucknow police.
‘हां हमने झंडा लगा रखा है,हम तो पाकिस्तान जिंदाबाद भी बोलेंगे..’
यह वीडियो सोशल मीडिया से मिला है, जिसका पता “तेलीबाग” है..नूर आलम नामक व्यक्ति ने तांगे पर पाकिस्तान का लगा झंडा लगा रखा है, कृपया मामला संज्ञान में लेकर उचित कार्रवाई करें.🙏 @Uppolice @lkopolice pic.twitter.com/c46vci7JEF
— Kreately.in (@KreatelyMedia) August 26, 2021
Not Pakistan’s flag
Newsroom Post also published an article on the video. While the article claimed, “People stopped a tanga driver after they spotted Pakistan’s flag on the tanga,” the second paragraph stated that the police found the tanga was painted with ‘karbala symbol’ and not the flag of Pakistan. The police spoke to both parties – the tanga driver and people who accused him of driving a tanga with Pakistan’s flag – and the matter was sorted after it was concluded the tanga adorned an Islamic symbol.
Lucknow police confirmed the same to Alt News. “The tanga was painted with moon and star. Not the flag of Pakistan. After the controversy, the tanga driver painted that area with black colour. No complaint was filed,” the police said. Any action against the people who harassed the tanga driver is yet to be taken. The police said that he did not file a complaint.
Newsroom Post omitted this crucial detail while running the video on Twitter.
A cursory look at the paint job is enough to discern that it is not the flag of Pakistan. The latter has a crescent and star at a 45-degree angle and a white stripe on the left. It must be noted that the crescent is a common Islamic symbol.
Two tanga drivers were hounded by locals. Certain media outlets, journalists and propaganda websites amplified the misinformation online. Below is a tweet by Dainik Jagran editor Pawan Tiwari.
भारत में पलो बढ़ो..नारा लगाओ पाकिस्तान जिंदाबाद #Lucknow के पीजीआई एरिया का वाक़या pic.twitter.com/nElmEuiM2i
— Pawan Tiwari🇮🇳 🇮🇳 (@pawan_pawant) August 25, 2021
Tiwari shared another video that shows the drivers were forced to raise the Indian flag and sloganeer ‘Hindustan Zindabad’. He mockingly wrote in another tweet that the drivers turned into ‘nationalists’ after the police’s intervention.
— Pawan Tiwari🇮🇳 🇮🇳 (@pawan_pawant) August 25, 2021
Alt News has published several reports in the past when Islamic flags or flags of Islamic organisations were misrepresented as the Pakistan flag.
Independent journalism that speaks truth to power and is free of corporate and political control is possible only when people start contributing towards the same. Please consider donating towards this endeavour to fight fake news and misinformation.
