Viral Video of Kuwaiti Singer Demanding Ram Mandir Is Doctored
The doctored video calls for construction of Ram temple with communally provocative lyrics.
A viral video uploaded by a Facebook page ‘Politics Solitics’ shows Kuwaiti singer Mubarak Al-Rashid rendering a song demanding Ram mandir, in the presence of Union Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj.
The video of Al-Rashid singing ‘Jo Ram ka nahi, mere kaam ka nahi, Bolo Ram Mandir Kab Banega’ (He who is not of Lord Ram's, is of no use, Tell us when Ram Mandir will be built) was uploaded during the first week of November, and has garnered over 5,70,000 views and over 33,300 shares on Friday, 9 November.
YOU MUST READ ON BECAUSE...
Swaraj is seen cheering and applauding the Kuwaiti singer, as he sang communally provocative lyrics, calling for a mahasangram, meaning great war.
Watch the video here:
The video was shared by fan pages like Yogi Adityanath Fan Club, which is followed by more than 4,000 people.
The comments, in response to the video, were also communal in nature.
BUT, HERE’S THE TRUTH
This is a doctored/manipulated video.
While the man singing in the video is Kuwaiti singer Mubarak Al-Rashid, he is actually singing Vaishnav Jan to Tene Kahiye – one of Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite Bhajans. He is not singing a song demanding the building of Ram temple.
Al-Rashid sang the song in the presence of Sushma Swaraj on 31 October, during the latter’s visit to Kuwait.
The original video was also shared by the handle of Ministry of External Affairs.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The video has been shared at a time when tensions are high surrounding the Ram temple.
The Supreme Court on 29 October adjourned the Ayodhya matter for January 2019 for fixing a schedule of hearing by an appropriate bench.
BJP national secretary Ram Madhav said on 3 November that Hindus were getting “anxious” over the construction of Ram temple, indicating that it will be one of the primary issues the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2019 will be fought on.
Madhav’s statement came a day after Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi said that Hindus were “insulted” that the Supreme Court did not consider Ayodhya issue a priority.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)