A video, purportedly of students Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) protesting the Citizenship Amendment Act is making the rounds on social media at present.
On Sunday, Santosh Ranjan Rai, the National Vice President of the Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha posted the video to social media, and stated that the words being chanted in the video were, "The grave of Hindus will be dug on the chest of AMU."
He is not the only one sharing videos along these lines. Also on Sunday, Amit Malviya shared the same video, adding a second video that purportedly shows Jamia Millia Islamia University students giving a call for 'azaadi'.
However, if one listens closely, the protesters seem to be saying "Hindutva" rather than "Hinduon". Fact checking website Alt News used a Twitter keyword search to discover the same video, but with improved audio and video quality.
According to the site, this video is a zoomed in version of another video that was uploaded a few days prior and has lost its clarity.
Coming to the second video, there too, the chant seems to be along the same lines.
These are not the only people who've misquoted the video and posted it to social media. BJP UP spokesperson Shalab Mani Tripathi shared the video on Twitter, as well as retweeting Malviya's post. Others included Delhi BJP Spokesperson, Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, former Sena leader Ramesh Solanki and BJP members.
The fact-check however has raised a fresh salvo of criticism online with many criticising the site for quibbling over 'Hindu' and Hindutva'.
Writer and creative consultant Vaibhav Vishal who runs the blog ofnosurnamefame.com said that this is "bordering on dishonest journalism". As he put it sarcastically, "People who receive this inciting video on Whatsapp will definitely have an academic debate on Hindu vs Hindutva, and then take an informed call about their take on this video!"
Many on social media however do not seem to seem any difference between the two words. Going by comments on Twitter, the two words apparently amount to the same thing, at least for many.
Take a look:
The fact however remains. Irrespective of what the people in the video said, the difference is only of one word. And with either option, the underlying message is a rather violent one.
