Scene from stage play viral as RSS founder Hedgewar’s final words to followers

A video clip that apparently depicts the final moments of Hindutva ideologue and RSS founder K B Hedgewar is viral on social media. Users across platforms have shared this clip suggesting that the footage is from Hedgewar’s last address to his cohorts at an organisational training camp of the RSS. In the video, which is more than two minutes long, the person who delivers the speech talks about serving the nation and the community by being a Swayamsevak. In the final few seconds, he chokes on his words and is attended to by the people surrounding him.

Writer Chakravarty Sulibele (@astitvam) shared the video with the viral claim from his verified X account. At the time of this article being written, the post has been viewed almost 280,000 times, and has been re-shared around 2,500 times. (Archive)

Received this video saying Dr Hedgewar Ji’s last address at Organisational training camp. You cannot finish listening to it without goosebumps..
Jai ghosh at the end will reverb in ears for long..🙏 pic.twitter.com/FMWf8CI2Zc

— Chakravarty Sulibele (@astitvam) October 22, 2024

Another X user, @KaramudiMuttu, also shared the viral video, claiming that it showed Hedgewar delivering his final speech to the Swayamsevaks on June 9, 1940. (Archive)

ಸಂಘದ ಶಿಕ್ಷಾವರ್ಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೊನೆಯ ಬಾರಿಗೆ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಿ ಶಿಬಿರಾರ್ಥಿಗಳನ್ನ ಉದ್ದೇಶಿಸಿ ಡಾ:ಹೆಡಗೇವಾರ್ ಅವರು ಮಾತನಾಡಿದ್ದರು.
( ಜೂನ್ 9 1940 ) ✍️🚩 pic.twitter.com/5jIPfIFS7u

— Muttu Karamudi (@KaramudiMuttu) October 21, 2024

The viral claim was propagated by several other users on X. (Archives – 1, 2)

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Fact Check

Alt News ran a reverse image search on a still from the viral video clip, showing the purported final speech of RSS founder K B Hedgewar. We came across this YouTube video, which is the same as the viral clip.

The title as well as the description of the video indicates that the clip is an extract from a stage play.

It is also to be noted that in the year in which the viral video is claimed to have been shot, which is also the year in which K B Hedgewar passed away (1940), colour videography with sound effects would be an anachronism.

To sum up, an extract from a stage play featuring an actor in the role of K B Hedgewar is being falsely shared across social media with the claim that the video shows Hedgewar’s final speech to the Swayamsevaks in Nagpur in 1940.

Prantik Ali is an intern at Alt News.