No, Degrees of Medical Students in J&K Weren't 'Cancelled' Post Pakistan's Win

The image could be traced back to 2017 at least, and is from Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh and not Jammu and Kashmir.

An image of a college in Uttar Pradesh was used to falsely claim that degrees of 100 medical students in Srinagar were "cancelled" after they allegedly raised pro-Pakistan slogans.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A group photograph, which shows burqa-clad women, is being massively shared on social media with a claim that it shows the students of Srinagar medical college who have been denied their degrees because they raised pro-Pakistan slogans.

The photo is getting shared in the backdrop of the T20 World Cup match between India and Pakistan, in which the latter won by 10 wickets.

But, we found that the claim being made along with this photograph is false. First, the photograph could be traced back to 2017 at least, and is from Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh and not Jammu and Kashmir.

Second, we found no reports that stated that the degrees of 100 medical students were cancelled. However, following Pakistan's victory, reports had emerged stating that students in various states celebrated this win with Jammu and Kashmir police pressing charges under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against some students in Srinagar.

CLAIM

The claim along with the image reads: "पाकिस्तान जिंदाबाद का नारा लगाने वाली श्रीनगर मेडिकल कॉलेज की 100 सुंदरियाँ अब डॉक्टर नही बन पाएँगी सरकार ने डिग्री रद्द कर दी...!! (sic)"

(Translated: 100 beauties of Srinagar Medical College, who raised Pakistan Zindabad slogans, will no longer be able to become doctors, the government has cancelled their degrees.)

You can view the archived version here.

Several social media users shared the image on Facebook and Twitter with the same claim and the archived version of the posts can be viewed here, here, and here.

WHAT WE FOUND

We performed a reverse image search on Google and came across an article titled as 'Winds of change: Muslim girls embrace education, aim high (IANS Special Series)' that was published by 'BDC News' in November 2017.

The article carried the viral image and the caption along with it mentioned that it showed students of Fatima Girls Inter College in Daudpur in Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh.

An article published in 2017 had carried the viral image claiming that it's from Uttar Pradesh.

Taking a cue from here, we searched for the institute's Facebook account and came across an image uploaded on their handle that showed the structure of the college. We found that the structure was similar to the one seen in the viral image.

Left: Viral image. Right: Image of UP college.

Further, we also came across an image of the institute available on Google Maps and compared it with the one used in the BDC News article since it was clearer that the viral image.

One can see several similar design elements in the building's structure.

Left: Viral image. Right: Image of UP college.

Meanwhile, in November 2017, Fatima Girls College & Schools had shared an image of a clipping that carried the viral photo.

The institute had shared the image on Facebook in 2017.

Evidently, an image of a college in Uttar Pradesh was used to falsely claim that degrees of 100 medical students in Srinagar were cancelled after they allegedly raised pro-Pakistan slogans.

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