On February 13, 2024, farmers from the border states of Delhi marched towards the national capital, demanding a Minimum Support Price (MSP) guarantee on products.
Against this background, a video is widely being shared on social media in which some people wearing turbans and holding Khalistani flags are seen kicking the Indian flag. The video is shared with a caption claiming the viral video is from the recent farmers' protest.
A social media user shared the video with a caption that reads, “#तिरंगे को पैरो से फुटबाल की तरह से खेलने वाले ये लोग क्या वाकई #किसान है ! #पुलिस से निवेदन है इनके #पैर इस लायक़ नहीं बचने चाहिए की ये खड़े हो पाये। #farmerprotests2024.” (English translation, “Are these people who are kicking the Indian national flag like football really farmers? Police are requested that these people be beaten so that they can stand. #farmerprotests2024”)
SouthCheck found the claim to be misleading. The viral video is old and does not show farmers desecrating the national flag.
On doing a Google Reverse Image Search with one of the screenshots, we found the same video was uploaded by an X user on July 25, 2023. The video was shared with a caption claiming that Khalistanis are insulting their national flag in a foreign land. We further found that the X user had shared that the video was from Canada.
We found a Facebook user had also shared the same video on July 26, 2024, claiming that the viral video was of Canada, where Khalistanis were kicking the Indian national flag.
A website, Media Mingle, also shared the video and said that Khalistani protestors in Canada marked their protest by tying the Indian national flag around a football and kicking it. Khalistanis are radicals who are demanding a separate state for Sikhs in India.
A report by Deccan Herald suggested that the Khalistani supporters openly disrespected the Indian national flag after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Narendra Modi government of being involved in Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killing.
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral video is old and shows Khalistani separatists disrespecting the flag.