A photo of a signboard, apparently from Uttarakhand, nudging Muslims to buy from other Muslims has gone viral. The widely shared image shows a signboard signed off by Muslim Samaj, Uttarakhand, on which a message is displayed in Hindi. It says, "Apne tyohaar, apne se vyavhar. Eid ki khareedari unse kare jo, apke khareedari se Eid mana sake." (Celebrate your festival with kindness towards your own. Do your Eid shopping from those who can celebrate Eid with your purchase.)
X account @maheshyagyasain shared this picture with a communally charged caption. "We (Hindus) remained entangled in the plains vs hills regionalism. Bhaijaan played his game well," it said before sarcastically remarking "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas". (Archive)
The image was also shared on Instagram by user @heena_malik_7861. (Archive)
Another user, Siddhantknj123, shared the image on Threads with a communal message. To counter what the banner was suggesting, the user urged Hindus to shop exclusively from Hindu vendors only for Holi, even if the items were more expensive. The phrase, "Apna khayega toh saath dega, dusra khayega toh hatiyar nikalega" (If your own benefits, they'll support you; if the other benefits, they'll raise weapons) was added with the image. (Archive)
Others made short videos using the picture and shared it on YouTube.
Alt News received several requests to check the authenticity of the image on our WhatsApp helpline number (+91 7600011160)
Fact Check
While verifying the image, we noticed that the signboard appeared brighter and sharper than the rest of the picture. It lacked shadows and exuded a neon light, which is otherwise hard to see in a photograph, especially during the daytime. The image of two men hugging each other on the banner also appears more blurred than the rest, indicating that the image was digitally altered.
We then tried to find news reports from Uttarakhand on these banners using multiple keyword searches but found nothing. We also looked for an official site or page of the so-called Muslim Samaj in Uttarakhand, which appears in the banner's sign-off at the bottom but didn't find one.
We also reached out to a prominent Islamic organisation in Uttarakhand, the Muslim Sewa Sangathan, to corroborate whether there's any organisation named Muslim Samaj in the state. The body's general secretary, Arjaytasha Saddam Qureshi, told Alt News that he was certain there was no organisation named Muslim Samaj in Uttarakhand.
Qureshi said there were no reports of any such poster or incident in the state, adding that the signage appears fake.
While investigating this particular case, Alt News found that a similar appeal to Muslims (urging them to buy only from Muslim shopkeepers) was made in a widely forwarded message in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. This message sparked a political controversy and media outlets such as Aaj Tak and India TV reported on the incident. The reports also said that several members of the Muslim community condemned the message, calling it a misguided practice and affirmed that they would reject any attempts to divide society.
Bhopal has seen similar incidents in the past. Last year, during Diwali, Bajrang Dal put up banners urging Hindus to buy exclusively from Hindu shopkeepers. Media outlet Jansatta reported on this citing Vishwa Hindu Parishad and BJP spokespersons.
Therefore, if signage like the one in the viral image was put up in Uttarakhand, media outlets would have reported on it and leaders of political outfits too would have commented on it.
To sum up, there is no organisation named Muslim Samaj in Uttarakhand in the first place, and the absence of news coverage on the incident along with indications of the image of banner being digitally altered led us to conclude that this is a case of a doctored image being circulated on social media to fire communal sentiments amid Ramzan.
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