Claim: The video shows a Hyderabadi Nawab, possibly a Muslim, speaking against Muslims and communists.
Fact: The claim is false. The person in the video is VHP’s Acharya Dharmendra, who passed away in 2020.
Hyderabad: A video featuring an elderly man speaking to the media from a car has been circulating on social media. In the video, the man alleges that Muslims and communists are conspiring to disrupt India’s peace and progress.
Accompanying claims suggest that the man is a Hyderabadi Nawab, possibly a Muslim, speaking out against Muslims and communists. A Facebook user shared the video and wrote, “This is the literal truth spoken by the Nawab of Hyderabad.” (Translated from Hindi) (Archive)
NewsMeter found that the claim is false, as the video shows Acharya Dharmendra, not a Hyderabadi Nawab.
Upon conducting a reverse image search of the video’s keyframes, we found the extended version posted by a Facebook page on February 16, 2020. The post’s caption stated that the video shows Acharya Dharmendra of Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) speaking against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and Owaisi brothers.
We noticed the logo of Youth Media TV in the viral video and the Facebook video. Following these leads, we ran keyword searches and found the extended version of the video published on the verified YouTube channel of Youth Media TV on January 2, 2020. The viral clips appeared at the beginning of the video.
Though the channel does not mention the person’s name, the Hindi text on the video’s thumbnail refers to him as ‘Maharaj’.
The video showed him speaking against Muslims, communists and leaders such as West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Owaisi brothers of Hyderabad. The date of publication of the video on Facebook and YouTube confirmed that it is at least from 2020.
We compared the image of Acharya Dharmendra available on the internet with the screengrab from the viral video and found them identical.
We looked into the details of Acharya Dharmendra and found reports by The Print and Aaj Tak published on September 19, 2022. According to these reports, Acharya Dharmendra passed away after a prolonged illness. His demise was mourned by many leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
Acharya Dharmendra was a prominent member of the Kendriya Margdarshak Mandal of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. Born on January 9, 1942, in Malvada, Gujarat, he was known for leading a movement in 1965 against cow slaughter.
Hence, we conclude that the claim is false. The person in the video criticising Muslims is not a Hyderabad Nawab.
