Barelvi Maulana Calls Himself A Hindu During An Event? No, Cropped Video Viral With Misleading Claim

A video from a vying poetry event is doing rounds on social media, claiming that the person seen on the dais is Barelvi Maulana, who is calling himself a Hindu. In the 20-second-long clip, the person is standing and can be heard saying, "मैं बाग़ी नहीं हूँ, मैं हिन्दू तो हूँ पर वहाबी नहीं हूँ" (English translation: I am not a rebel, I am a Hindu but not a Wahhabi) while others are applauding and cheering him.

A verified Twitter user shared the video with a Hindi caption, "बरेलवी मौलाना ने स्टेज पर कहा "मैं हिंदू तो हूं लेकिन वहाबी नहीं हूं"..." (English translation: Barelvi Maulana said on stage "I am Hindu but not Wahabi..."The clip was shared on March 3, and at the time of writing, this report had garnered over 77k views with more than 1300 likes.

A Facebook user shared the video with a Hindi caption, "बरेलवी मौलाना ने स्टेज पर कहा "मैं हिंदू तो हूं लेकिन वहाबी नहीं हूं"😁😁 यह योगीजी के राज में यह कैसा परिवर्तन😂💪" [English translation: Barelvi Maulana said on the stage "I am a Hindu but not a Wahhabi". What a change in Yogiji's rule!]

The 20-second-long clip is viral on Twitter and Facebook.

Claim:

Maulana Barelvi called himself a Hindu during a vying poetry event.

Fact Check:

The Logical Indian Fact-Check team verified the claim and found it misleading, as the person seen in the video is Maulana Zahid Raza Banarasi.

We extracted different keyframes from the viral video. We conducted a reverse image search, leading us to a verified YouTube channel, 'SHAHBAAZIYA AGENCY', which shared the extended version of the video on April 28, 2021, which has garnered almost 299k views. The vying poetry event took place on March 23, 2021, at Jodhanpur village of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.

The 7 minutes 21 seconds-long video was shared with a Hindi title, "ऐसा कहने में ज़रा भी नहीं हिचकिचाए Zahid Raza Banarasi और Stage पर हंगामा हो गया" [English translation: Zahid Raza Banarasi did not hesitate to say so, and there was an uproar on the stage.]

In the YouTube video at the time stamp of 2:24, the person identified by the channel as Zahid Raza Banarsi can be heard saying, "दीपक सिंह MLC, 5100 रुपए दिए हैं, अल्हम्दुलिल्लाह! हम उनका हार्दिक अभिनन्दन करते हैं। अरे दीपक का मतलब क्या हुआ, अरे दीपक जी आये हैं। आज जब की कॉमन फीलिंग की जंग है, धर्मवाद है, नस्लवाद है, बिरादरीवाद है, दीपक जी ने पैगाम दिया है खुदा के नबी का कि मैं बाग़ी नहीं हूँ, मैं हिन्दू तो हूँ पर वहाबी नहीं हूँ।" [English translation: Deepak Singh MLC, has given Rs 5100, Alhamdulillah! We heartily congratulate him. Hey Deepak, what does it mean, Hey Deepak ji has come. Today, when there is a war of common feeling, religionism, racism, sectarianism, Deepak ji has given the message of God's prophet that I am not a rebel, I am a Hindu but I am not a Wahhabi.]

Further, in the same video, at another time stamp of 4:55, a person can be seen walking to the dais and handing a rose and reward to Banarasi; following this, at 5:05, he again mentions the name of Deepak. Later at 6:05, Banarsi says "हमारे दीपक जी आए हैं एक दम मेरा दिल गदगद हो गया है, यही लोग हैं असली नेता।" [English translation: Our Deepak ji has come, my heart has become overjoyed, these people are the real leaders.]

Further, we looked for the Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) Deepak of Uttar Pradesh, who was referred to in the video multiple times. We searched using specific keywords and found the UP Congress Party MLC, Deepak Singh's profile on Facebook and Twitter.

As per the information on his profile, he is a member of the Legislative Council of Uttar Pradesh. Information about Deepak Singh being MLC has also been given on the website myneta.info, which keeps the details of the leaders.

For more details, The Logical Indian fact-check team reached out to MLC Deepak Singh through the contact number provided in his profile. He said that his tenure for Legislative Council concluded on July 2023 and "This event of Zahid Raza Banarasi is two years old, and I was present during the program". The MLC clarified that Banarsi noted, "मैं बाग़ी नहीं हूँ, मैं हिन्दू तो हूँ पर वहाबी नहीं हूँ" for Deepak not for himself.

Our investigation shows that the person in the viral video is Maulana Zahid Raza Banarasi. Further, through his poetry, he calls another person a Hindu, not himself. A cropped version of the video is viral with a misleading claim.

If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.

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