A video of a Sikh procession was shared widely on social media claiming that they were heading towards Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh to support Muslims against National Register of Citizens and Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
One Facebook user ‘Mohammad Javed’ posted the video along with a caption in Hindi which translates to ‘Sikh brothers reach Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, say they too are with Muslims. No NRC, No CAA’.
This video which was posted on February 4, has received 17 lakh views and over 1,26,000 shares.
However, according to a report by India Today, this video is three months old and from Sultanpur Lodhi in Punjab. Taking a closer look at the video, the registration code of a motorbike passing by exhibits the RTO quantity (PB08BA 8747) of Punjab’s Jalandhar. A car of Punjab Police may also be seen.
According to Jalandhar police that procession was of Namdhari Sikhs, an India sect of Sikhism, who mostly wear white turbans, kurtas and pyjamas. It turned out that these Sikhs were participating in a Nagar Kirtan, a Sikh custom involving processions by the community.
When searched with related keywords, some YouTube videos were found from November last year which showed a similar procession and a police vehicle as seen in the viral video.
The details of these YouTube videos show that it is a procession by Namdhari Sikhs on the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in Sultanpur Lodhi, a holy town in Kapurthala district of Punjab.
Another such video from the same event could be seen here.
While DSP of Sultanpur Lodhi, Sarwan Singh Bal confirmed to India Today that the viral video is of a procession led by Namdhari Sikhs in the town on the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in November 2019, Sultanpur Lodhi MLA Navtej Singh Cheema also confirmed that the video was from his constituency and was shot in November last year.
The MLA divulged that he had organised the celebration in the city, and the procession seen in the video was going to Gurudwara Ber Sahib, a famous holy spot for Sikhs in Sultanpur Lodhi.Incidentally, this incident was reported by Punjab Kesari on November 2, 2019.
