Amid the ongoing 2024 General Elections, a video of Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar is going viral on social media claiming that he is asking people to embrace Islam during his speech.
Kanhaiya Kumar appears to be saying the following in the viral clip: “Our history is linked to this place. We haven’t walked all the way from Arab to this country. We have grown up here and the speciality of that religion…and the older religions that practiced untouchability was the reason why people embraced this religion. In the mosque, social hierarchy is not practised. On this basis, we have embraced this religion and we will not leave it. We will save ourselves, and while saving the community, we will also save the country. It is our foundational responsibility. Allah has a lot of strength and will to protect us. (Sic)”
A Facebook user shared this video and wrote, “ये कन्हैया तो अब्दुल निकला भाई..“मै मुसलमान बन चुका हूं…!सबको मुसलमान बन जाना चाहिए…!पुराना (हिंदू) धर्म बेकार है..! अल्लाह से ताकतवर कोई नही..!इस्लाम में छुआछूत नही है”..!2 शब्दों में कन्हैया कुमार को क्या कहेंगे आप..?”(
English translation: This Kanhaiya turned out to be Abdul..”I have become a Muslim…! Everyone should become a Muslim…! The old (Hindu) religion is useless..! No one is more powerful than Allah..! There is no untouchability in Islam.” “..!What would you call Kanhaiya Kumar in 2 words..?)
This Facebook post can be seen here (archive).
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim, and found it to be FALSE.
Running a Reverse Image Search of the video keyframes, the NM team found the extended version of a viral video on a YouTube channel — One Channel, dated August 27, 2018, with a title: “Kanhaiya Kumar answered the questions of intellectuals of the Muslim community in Nanded.”
In the video, the viral clip begins at the 12:03 minute mark. However, it lacks context as Kumar is referring to Abul Kalam Azad’s speech at Jama Masjid, not his own religion. At 11:50, Kumar quotes India’s first education minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, who argued at Jama Masjid that this country is for all of us. We will not go anywhere else just because someone is telling us to. Our blood and sweat are mixed in the soil of the country. Our ancestors were connected to this country. We did not come from Arabia, we grew up here…”
At 12:15 minutes Kanhaiya talks about those who have changed their religion. Kumar says: ‘They left the old religion because it supported untouchability and accepted the religion which talks about peace and unity.
The viral video then jumps to 16:00 minutes, when Kumar says, “We will save ourselves and while saving the community, we will also save the country.”
However, the context for Kanhaiya’s statement was omitted in the re-clipped video. The full context begins at the 15-minute mark where Kanhaiya discusses responding to those who present themselves as ‘messiahs of religion’.
He says that Muslims should ask these leaders to talk about development, employment, health services and efforts to confine Muslims to ‘ghettos’ should be foiled. The viral clip ends on another jump cut. At 15:12 minutes Kumar says, “Allah is powerful, he will save us.”
Therefore, we can conclusively say that the viral video is misleading.
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