DigitEye India Fact Checkers
Amid the chaotic situation in Bangladesh, a video showed people on march holding Pakistani flags with a caption that said Bangladeshi Muslims are threatening “Direct Action” on Hindus.
The reference to Direct Action involves the pre-independence rift between the Congress and the Muslim League, when the latter under Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s leadership gave a call for “Direct Action” Day on August 16, 1946 tha led to violence and eventual partition of India. See the video below:
Bengali Muslims with Pakistani flags chanting “direct action”#BangaldeshUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/mH87rIAIAA
— Suman Pramanik (Modi ka Parivar) (@PramanikBjp) August 8, 2024
The claim reads: “Bengali Muslims with Pakistani flags chanting ‘direct action'”
A similar video has been shared with another interpretation as below:
Bangladeshi Muslims with Pakistan flag are threatening “Direct Action” on Hindus.
We helped them get their country Bangladesh and they threatening us of Direct action day and want to merge with Pakistan … the same Pakistan which r@ped more than 5 lakh Bangladeshi women, k!lled… pic.twitter.com/wxmIDBPBOD
— Amitabh Chaudhary (@MithilaWaala) August 8, 2024
The claim reads: “Bangladeshi Muslims with Pakistan flag are threatening ‘Direct Action’ on Hindus. We helped them get their country Bangladesh and they threatening us of Direct action day and want to merge with Pakistan, the same Pakistan which r@ped more than 5 lakh Bangladeshi women, k!lled millions â€æBangladesh truly is a b@s***rd ch!ld which don’t deserve to exist.”
FACT-CHECK
Digiteye India first checked the key frames of the video on Google Reverse Image Search and found that the video is about a Pakistan Independence Day celebration held in Toronto, Canada in 2023 and not from the latest uprising in Bangladesh.
Further, the audio track has been replaced with Bangla slogans, which targeted Khaleda Zia and not Hindus as stated in the claims.
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Further scrutiny of the video showed that it was located in Gerrard St E, Toronto, Canada where the shops “Lahore Tikka House” and “Desi Burger” seen in the video are located. Hence, the claim is false that the video of Bangladeshis holding Pakistani flags are asking for Direct Action against Hindus.
Claim: Bangladeshi Muslims holding Pakistan flags are threatening Direct action against Hindus.
Conclusion: Misrepresentation — The video is from 2023 Pakistan Independence day celebrations held in Toronto, Canada and has nothing to do with anti-Hindu protests in Bangladesh.
Rating: Misrepresentation — 
