Fact Check: Old images of pro-Khalistan demonstrations linked to farmers’ protests

Amid the ongoing farmers’ agitation, a set of images of some people holding pro-Khalistan banners and posters have gone viral with the claim that these are scenes from the protests near the Delhi-Haryana border.

Several Twitter users have posted the images with the caption, “Why does every protest boils down to religion? Who are these people raising such horrifying slogans? Hum Sikh baadmein hai, pehele Hindustani hai.”

The posts are shared with the hashtag #FarmerProtestHijacked.

India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found the viral claim to be misleading. These images are old and taken from various pro-Khalistan demonstrations from Amritsar to New York.

The archived version of the post can be seen here.

Using reverse image and keyword searches, we found the truth behind the four pictures used in the viral post. We have numbered them so that they can be identified.

First picture

We found that this particular image of some people carrying “Punjab Referendum 2020” posters have been used by several websites since 2018 with articles on pro-Khalistan movements abroad. As per the website “Nationalia”, this was a demonstration by some Sikhs of the North American diaspora in 2018.

Second picture

This image is available on “Getty Images”. As per the picture caption, this was an anti-war rally by some Sikhs in protest against the conflict between India and Pakistan. The demonstration was held at the United Nations headquarters in New York, the United States, on October 11, 2016.

Third picture

This is a seven-year-old picture from the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab. As per “Getty Images” , activists belonging to hardline Sikh groups displayed posters in support of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and Khalistan. It was the 29^th anniversary of “Operation Blue Star” which was carried out by the Indian Army in 1984 in Amritsar to arrest Bhindranwale and his followers.

“Aaj Tak” had earlier published a fact-check article on the same picture.

Fourth image

This picture is edited and a graphics plate laid over the original image. The original picture has been published by several websites in news related to the ongoing farmers’ agitation.

Conclusion

There have been media reports that some BJP leaders have alleged that pro-Khalistan slogans and posters were raised during the ongoing farmers’ agitation. But the pictures used in the viral post are years old and not related to the present developments.