Fact Check: Sheikh Hasina Has Not Converted To Hinduism In India, Viral Image Is Edited

What is the claim?

An image of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina standing with a group of people has been shared online to criticize her, with claims that it shows a Hindu priest in saffron attire applying a tilak (a religious mark worn by Hindus) on her forehead in India. The insinuation is that she has converted to Hinduism.

Social media users captioned the image with statements like, “Elder sister is a Muslim while in Bangla (Bangladesh) and a Hindu in Hindustan (translated from Bangla).” The image also contains inlaid Bangla text stating, “Elder sister is Muslim in Bangladesh, what is a Muslim’s identity?” Archived versions of such posts on Facebook and X can be found here, here, and here. 

However, our investigation found that this image is digitally altered. The original photograph is from September 2022 and features a Hindu priest applying a tilak on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Kerala.

What did we find?

A reverse image search led to a post by Indian news agency ANI on September 14, 2022 (archived here). The post contains four photos of Gandhi meeting Hindu priests. A comparison reveals that Gandhi has been replaced by Hasina in the altered image, as the background and visual elements remain identical.

The ANI post explained that the photos were taken during Gandhi’s visit to the Sivagiri Mutt, a pilgrimage center in Varkala, Kerala. “Kerala | Congress MP Rahul Gandhi visited the Sivagiri Mutt in Varkala, Thiruvananthapuram, to pay obeisance at the Samadhi of Sree Narayana Guru,” ANI stated. The Congress party also shared these images on its official X account (archived here).

Sree Narayana Guru dedicated his life to reject casteism, promote social equality & spiritual enlightenment. The revered Sivagiri mutt has been visited by Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Ji & Rajeev Gandhi in the past. His teachings will always inspire the humankind.#BharatJodoYatra 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/3XbPyGobs0

— Congress (@INCIndia) September 14, 2022

Several news outlets, including The Times of India, reported that Gandhi visited Sivagiri Mutt on September 14, 2022, to pay homage to Sree Narayana Guru, a spiritual leader, and social reformer, before resuming the eighth day of the Congress party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra from Navayikkulam in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram.

What about Sheikh Hasina’s photo?

The image of Hasina used in the altered photo is from October 2019. According to an Asia Times‘ report dated July 16, 2023, the original photo—credited to Prakash Singh of AFP—shows Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shaking hands with Hasina before a meeting in New Delhi on October 5, 2019. A comparison reveals that the viral image was cropped and flipped to insert Hasina into the scene. The original photo is also available on AFP.

During her four-day official visit to India in October 2019, Hasina held wide-ranging talks with Modi on bilateral ties, according to The Times of India.

This evidence conclusively demonstrates that a photo of Gandhi visiting a religious site was edited to insert an image of Hasina, falsely claiming that the ousted Bangladeshi prime minister is having a tilakapplied in India.

The verdict

Social media users have shared a digitally altered image to falsely claim that former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was applying a tilak in India. The original photo shows Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during his visit to a religious site in Kerala, with Hasina’s image digitally inserted.

This report first appeared on logicallyfacts.com, and has been republished on ABP Live as part of a special arrangement. Apart from the headline, no changes have been made in the report by ABP Live.