A viral video showing a crowd dancing with swords in their hands is doing the rounds on social media. Many social media users are sharing the video, claiming that these women are performing Kathi Samu — a Telugu martial form — during Dussehra celebrations in Gujarat recently, and that they have created a Guinness world record.
A Facebook user posted the viral video with a caption: !! దసరా నవరాత్రుల్లో గుజరాత్ లో గత నెలరోజులుగా కత్తి సాము నేర్చి ప్రదర్శించారు, ఈ దేశంలో ఏ చానల్లో చూపించలేదు. BBC చానల్లో చూపించారు. ఇది గిన్నిస్ రికార్డు !! (English Translation: !! During Dussehra Navaratris, Kathi Samu was taught and demonstrated in Gujarat for the last month… it was not shown in any channel in this country. Showed it on BBC channels. This is the Guinness world record !!)
You can check the post here.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the viral video, and found it to be misleading.
Closely looking at the entire video, we can see BBC Hindi’s logo appear in the beginning, along with sub-texts appearing throughout to inform about the video clip. At 00:04 the text in the video informs us that the women are performing Talvar-Raas Garba — a popular Gujarati folk dance. Watching further, at 00:08 it informs us that the event was organised to celebrate the coronation of the 17th king of the royal family of Rajkot, Mandhata Sinh Jadeja. It further informs that the participants were practising for over a month for the event.
The BBC News Hindi website has also published an article, dated January 31, 2020, which matches exactly with the viral clip.
As per the description of the video, it is from the year 2020, when Mandhata Sinh Jadeja became the 17th King of Rajkot. Around 2,126 people participated in the Talvar Raas dance and created a Guinness world record for the most people dancing with swords.
Searching about the video further, we traced a YouTube video titled: Rajkot में Rajputana महिलाओं ने दिखाया कमाल, राजतिलक से पहले हुआ तलवार रास | Gujarat Tak, published on January 28, 2020, on the official channel of Gujarat Tak. The keyframes of the YouTube video match with the viral video and the news report corroborates the claims on BBC Hindi. A similar report was also found on Jagran.
Though the group has created a Guinness world record, we could not find any report claiming that the dance performed was Kathi Samu, or that it was performed recently during the Dussehra celebrations in the state.
Therefore, we can conclusively say that the viral video claiming a large group of people performing Kathi Samu in Gujarat during the recent Dussehra celebrations, is misleading.
If you want to fact-check any story, WhatsApp it now on +91 11 7127 9799
Click here for Latest News updates and viral videos on our AI-powered smart news