Old Pic of Pro-Khalistan Placard Falsely Linked to Farmers Protest
The picture was taken in June 2013 at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
An old image from 2013 of a Sikh man holding up a placard saying ‘We Want Khalistan’ has been falsely revived as a recent one amid the ongoing farmers’ protest.
The picture was taken by news agency AFP’s photographer, Narinder Nanu, in June 2013, when activists from various radical Sikh organisations had gathered at the Golden Temple in Amritsar to mark the anniversary of Operation Bluestar.
CLAIM
The image is being shared with the claim, “इनका आंदोलन किसान आंदोलन नही है, इनका मकसद खालिस्तान बनाना।”
(Translation: “Their protest is not the farmers’ protest, their aim is to make Khalistan.”)
Several users shared the image with similar claims in Hindi.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
In a reverse image search we found that the image had been shared by several sites, including Pakistani newspaper, Tribune, which had credited the image to news agency AFP.
A keyword search of the same led us to the original image on Getty Images, by news agency AFP’s photographer, Narinder Nanu.
The image was taken on 6 June 2013, the 29th anniversary of Operation Bluestar, when radical activists from Sikh organisations had gathered at Amritsar’s Golden Temple, holding placards in support of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who had demanded the establishment of Khalistan – a Sikh homeland.
Evidently, an old 2013 image of a pro-Khalistan placard has been falsely linked to the ongoing farmers’ protest.
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