Was National Flag Replaced By Islamic Flag At Jalori Gate, Jodhpur? No, Viral Claim Is Misleading!

A video showing people hoisting green flags has gone viral across social media. The video has gone viral in the context of the recent communal clashes in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

Violence in Jodhpur started right before Eid celebrations. Stones pelting were reported on shops and vehicles. Later, Police brought the situation under control. The Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot, stated that instructions have been issued to the administration to maintain peace and order.

Claim:

Several videos have gone viral in the context of the Jodhpur violence. The following video shows an Islamic flag being installed at an elevation that a group of men is guarding. It is being claimed that the Muslims in jodhpur removed the national flag and installed an Islamic flag at Jalori Gate in Jodhpur.

A Twitter user shared a video and wrote a caption which reads, "Islamic goons replace Indian national flag with Islamic flag at #Jodhpur."

Sudharshan News shared the similar video and wrote a caption which reads, "मजहबी उन्माद से दहल उठा जोधपुर, स्वतंत्रता सेना की मूर्ति को ढक फहरा दिया इस्लामिक झंडा, विरोध करने पर उन्मादियों ने बरसाए पत्थर, पुलिस पर भी किया हमला पुलिस ने पहले हटवा दिया था भगवा ध्वज."

[English Translation: Jodhpur was shaken by the religious frenzy. An Islamic flag hoisted over the statue of the Freedom fighter. On protesting, the fanatics pelted stones, also attacked the police. Police had earlier removed the saffron flag.]

The Logical Indian also received several messages on our WhatsApp fact check no. +91-6364000343 requesting to fact check the claim.

Fact Check:

The Logical Indian Fact Check team verified the viral claim and found it to be misleading. The saffron flag was hoisted there first which was replaced with Islamic flag and then finally police put the tricolor.

We used InVid's Keyframe Analysis to isolate the keyframes of the video. We conducted a reverse image search on one of the keyframes and came across this report by a Gujarati media outlet, Lokpatrika.

The report included several screengrabs of viral videos surrounding the flag hoisting incident in Jodhpur. One of the screengrabs had a snapshot from one of the viral videos.

The report is titled: "Violence erupts in Jodhpur: Policemen injured in stone-pelting, internet services shut down." The report stated that the hoisting of the flags occurred at the quadrangle where the statue of the freedom fighter Balamukund Bissa is, near Jalori Gate in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

We conducted a keyword search and came across several reports about the incident. We came across this Zee News report which stated that there was fierce violence and vandalisation in Jodhpur over the installation of flags of different religious symbolism.

As per The Print article dated 03 May 2022, members from the Hindu community of Jodhpur alleged that the saffron flag, which had been installed at the statue before Parshuram Jayanti, was removed. This inflamed communal tensions, which led to stone-pelting and clashes. Followed by vandalisation and riots, to which the police responded with lathi-charge and fired tear gas shells.

The Zee News report gave more details about the incident stating that a saffron flag was placed at Jalori gate circle on Parshuram Jayanti on 1st May 2022. However, members of the Muslim community removed and replaced the saffron flag with an Islamic flag before Eid. This led to the communal clashes in Jodhpur, following which and curfew was imposed in Jodhpur.

This video report by ABP News gave a comprehensive understanding of the events. As the following screengrab shows, the Islamic flag was eventually replaced by the Tricolour flag. The police have stated that the law and order has been restored after the clashes.

The Indian Express spoke to Javed Hussain, a member of the peace committee to know the timeline of the incident. He said, "with Eid and Parashuram Jayanti celebrations taking place at the same time, the conflicts on Monday night were sparked due to the hoisting of a flag. Different communities decorate Jalori Gate whenever there is a holiday. On events such as Ambedkar Jayanti, Parashuram Jayanti, and Ram Navami, it is tradition to raise flags. However, when some youngsters put Eid flag over the monument of Bissa on Monday night, other people objected. It led to a confrontation, which then escalated into a brawl. Following the clash, members of both groups began congregating at the Jalori gate. A couple of loudspeakers that had been set up for Eid were also taken down".

According to the report, the day after the eid, on Wednesday, religious leaders Mufti Sher Muhammed and Mahant Ramprasad appealed for peace at a conference held at the Jodhpur circuit house. The discussion, however, ended without a conclusion after the BJP, the opposition party, walked out.

We also found a video report of India Today in which the timeline was explained by the news anchor. According to the report, Parashuram Jayanti was celebrated on May 1 at Jalori Gate. On May 2, Eid celebrants were allowed one-day authorization to use loudspeakers and display Islamic flags after which at 7:00 p.m. Islamic flags are raised at Jalori Gate. Later, at 9:00 pm, rumours spread of the Pakistan flag hoisted at Jalori Gate after two local channels reported that the freedom fighter's statue at Jalori Gate was vandalised without mentioning any evidence. On May 3, in response to the rumours, BJP members removed flags and loudspeakers from Jalori Gate at 12:00 a.m. The removal of the flag led to communal conflict between the two communities and an incident of stone-pelting was reported. After that on May 3, around 1:30 am, Police lathi-charged and even used tear gas to disperse the crowd. The fresh violence broke out after the saffron flag was hosted at the same spot. After that, to resolve the matter, the Rajasthan administration replaced saffron and the Islamic flag with the national flag. At 6:08 of the timestamp, one can see the timeline of the incident explained by the reporter.

Conclusion:

The caption claims that the national flag was removed, and an Islamic flag was installed at Jalori Gate in Jodhpur replacing the National flag. However, a saffron flag had been hoisted at the statue of freedom fighter Balamukund Bissa near Jalori Gate in Jodhpur. The saffron flag was then removed and replaced with an Islamic flag, leading to communal clashes. However, as the reports state and show, the Islamic flag has since then been replaced by the national flag.

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