Fact-Check: Viral Post on Aadhaar Saturation in Poll-Bound Bihar Is Misleading

We found that except Jehanabad in Bihar, all other districts in Bihar had over 100% Aadhaar saturation.

Fact-Check | The claim present selected data points to create a misleading narrative.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A post, which talks about the saturation percentage of Aadhaar in poll-bound Bihar and carries figures from Muslim-majority districts, is doing the rounds on social media platforms.

What does the post say?: Painting the Aadhaar situation in Muslim-dominated districts as shocking, the X (formerly Twitter) user shared figures that are as follows:

• Kishanganj: 126%

• Katihar - 123%

• Araria - 123%

• Purnia - 121%

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X/Screenshot)

The post had gained over five thousand views on the platform. You can view archives of similar such claims here, here, and here.

Are these claims true?: While the saturation percentages are correct for the aforementioned districts, the claim draws a misleading angle.

• It should be noted that districts with Hindu majority population in Bihar, too, have a high Aadhaar saturation.

How did we find that out?: We first cross-checked the data points (mentioned in the viral post) on the official website of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

• While we found that the percentages were correct, it also showed that the viral claim painted a misleading picture.

• Except the Jehanabad district (97%), all the other districts in Bihar had an Aadhaar saturation exceeding 100%.

All districts except one had an Aadhaar saturation exceeding 100 percent.

(Source: Accessed by The Quint)

What about the population angle?: Team WebQoof checked the district-wise population by religious community data set taken in 2011 that was available on the official Census website.

• As per the data, the district of Sitamarhi had a total population of 34,23,574 people. Out of this, about 26,72,311 individuals belonged to the Hindu community.

• This meant that Sitamarhi has around 78 percent Hindu population. It should be noted that the district has 110 percent Aadhaar saturation.

• Similary, Begusarai has a Hindu population of 25,54,330 out of the total population of 29,70,541. This evidently showed that the district is a Hindu majority with around 85% population.

Begusarai has 115 percent Aadhaar saturation.

(Source: UIDAI/Screenshot/Altered by The Quint)

Comparison with other states: We also looked at saturation percentage of other states in India, such as Delhi to draw a comparison.

• As per the 2011 census, the South Delhi district had a total population of 27,31,929. The Hindu population was recorded at 78.9 percent with 21,55,759 people.

• The Aadhaar saturation for the district is 150 percent.

South Delhi has about 150 percent Aadhaar saturation.

(Source: UIDAI/Screenshot)

• Team WebQoof further took the example of Kangra in Himachal Pradesh, which has around 96.7 percent Hindu population (as per the 2011 census).

• The district of Kangra has around 14,61,140 Hindus out of the total population of 15,10,075.

• It should be noted that the Aadhaar saturation in Kangra is at 125 percent.

Kangra district has around 125 percent Aadhaar saturation.

(Source: UIDAI/Screenshot)

• The same was true for several other randomly selected districts.

Conclusion: It is evident that the viral post carried selective data to create a misleading narrative ahead of the assembly elections in Bihar.

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