This Viral Video Showing Muslim Women Being Harassed Is Not From India

Due to the Hijab controversy, restrictive orders across Karnataka have been extended with the state's schools and colleges to remain shut till February 16. The High Court will be hearing the matter next week, and no protests are allowed within 200 meters of educational institutions in Bengaluru.

Amid this communally charged atmosphere, a video has emerged across social media that alleges the mistreatment of Muslim women by right-wing Hindu mobs. The video shows a group of men throwing water on women wearing hijabs as the women rush by, attempting to avoid the water.

A video has gone viral across social media with the following caption:

"आपका नया भारत मैं स्वागत है जहा आज एक मजहब की बच्चियों को हिजाब की वजह से परेशान किया जा रहा है सिर्फ इसलिए किया जा रहा की तुम मुसलमान हो । आप इस पर खुश हो रहे हो क्योंकि वह आपकी बच्चियां नही तो याद रखना यह दरिंदे हैवान कल आपकी बच्चों को भी परेशान करेंगे जब आप जागोगे बहुत देर हो चुकी होगी ये आरएसएस के दरिंदे आज सब मर्यादा भूल चुके हैं"

[English Translation: "Welcome to your new India where girls from a particular religion are being harassed because they are Muslim. You are rejoicing over this because they are not your daughters, but remember that these rascals will trouble your daughters tomorrow as well. Till the time you wake up, it will be too late. These rascals have forgotten all their dignity."]

Claim:

Viral video shows the mistreatment of Muslim women by right-wing Hindu mobs.

Fact Check:

The Logical Indian Fact Check team verified the claim and found it to be false. The viral video is almost three years old and presented out of context.

We used InVid's Keyframe Analysis tool to break down the video into keyframes. We conducted a reverse image search using one of the keyframes that led to this AFP Fact Check report.

The report, dated March 15, 2019, sheds light on viral Facebook posts which claimed that members of the Indian Hindu nationalist group, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, tortured Muslim women.

The report explains how the video which shows students throwing water over each other is an initiation event at a university in Sri Lanka.

The AFP Fact Check report also includes an article from puthithu.com, a news website run by Sri Lankan Tamils living abroad, that gives more details about the incident. The article translated into English talks about an incident where male students of the Eastern University located in Vantharumoolai, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, harassed the university's female students.

The article describes how senior university students threw buckets of water on female junior students. The news article quoted teachers describing the activity as bucketing. The report also stated that the ragging activity wasn't aimed solely at Muslim students.

The news website also attached a video of the incident, uploaded on February 24, 2019. The thumbnail roughly translates to: "Eastern University - Vulnerability of Female Students."

A YouTube channel, Now News, had also uploaded the same video on March 2, 2019. The thumbnail roughly translates to: "Ragging by racist students."

Conclusion:

The viral claim that a right-wing Hindu mob harassed Muslim women wearing hijabs is false. The video actually shows a ragging practice in the Eastern University of Sri Lanka, where senior male students thrEw water at junior female students.

The Hijab controversy has led to misinformation spreading rapidly across social media, and this viral video is an example of this.

If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.

Also Read: Hijab Controversy: JDS Member's Morphed Photos Viral With Misleading Claims!