A video has been shared on social media with the claim that due to firecrackers banned in Rajasthan, Rajputs celebrated Diwali by firing gunshots in the air.
राजस्थान में अशोक गहलोत की कोंग्रेस सरकार ने दिवाली पर पटाखे बेन किये थे।
फिर क्या, वहाँ के राजपूतों ने अपने अंदाज़ में दिवाली मनाई।💪🏻🙏🏻🚩
जय हिंदुत्व🙏🚩
*जय राजपुताना* 🚩Posted by Virendra Vicky Banna on Tuesday, 17 November 2020
Several Twitter users have also shared the clip while celebrating ‘Rajput pride’.
*राजस्थानमें अशोक गहलोत की कोंग्रेस सरकार ने दिवाली पर पटाखे बेन किये।* 😡
*फिर क्या, वहाँ के राजपूतों ने अपने अंदाज़ में दिवाली मनाई? 💪🏻🙏🏻🚩
*जय राजपुताना* 🚩
👇🏽👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/F8k5Y3evBI
— Akash RSS (@Satynistha) November 16, 2020
Fact-check
A reverse image search of a frame of this video on Yandex led us to the same clip uploaded in September 2020. This year, Diwali was celebrated on November 14 which means the viral video cannot represent Rajputs in Rajasthan protesting against the firecracker ban imposed by Congress-led Ashok Gehlot government.
We also found similar videos uploaded on YouTube in March 2019 and 2018. The title of this video reads, ‘Jamrabij menar 2019.’ Menar is a village in Rajasthan which falls in Udaipur district. This village is known for its lake and migratory birds.
The video currently viral was traced back to at least March 2020.
According to a report published in News18 on March 12, 2020, this is a 400-year-old tradition known as ‘Barood Ki Holi’ where gunshots are fired in the air. The menariya community of Menar village, situation 50 kms from Udaipur, held the event this year as well on Holi.
Therefore, a video of a tradition followed during Holi in Rajasthan’s Menar village is being misrepresented as Rajput’s protesting against the firecracker ban on Diwali.
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