On August 22, student groups and local traders in Hyderabad protested with ‘Marwadi Go Back’ slogans, which were sparked by a parking dispute. They staged tyre-burning rallies, bandh calls and slogans like ‘Telangana Bachao,’ prompting multiple arrests and heightened police alertness.
In the above context, a video of a man wearing a skullcap and weaving clothes has gone viral. People are labelling the man as a Rohingya Muslim working in India and are linking the video to the protest in Hyderabad.
A social media user shared the video and wrote, “Whose caste occupation is being taken over by who? These are the people who are taking away the caste occupations. It’s not the Marwadis. Can’t see despite having eyes. Open your eyes! ‘Marwadi Go Back’ is fine, but who then are the Rohingyas?” (Translated from Telugu)
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The video is from Bangladesh.
On a Google reverse image search, we found that the same video was shared by a Facebook user called Md Rubel with a caption that reads, “How are people in rural areas doing weaving?”
We found another video of the same man in the viral video, shared by Md Rubel on his Facebook page, with a caption that reads, “A wonderful song about Araihazar Police Station in a mature voice.”
We further found that the user had shared many similar videos of people weaving clothes on handlooms. One of the videos is about how sarees are woven.
We also found more videos of men weaving clothes. In one such video, we found that the caption suggests that it is of Narayanganj Araihazar.
Md Rubel mentioned in his Facebook bio that he shares Bangladesh traditional handloom art videos on his Facebook page. His bio also suggests that he is from Araihazar, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
We found that the Facebook user had also shared the same video on his YouTube channel. He had shared the video on August 17, with the caption suggesting that the video showcases the lives of villagers in Gramganj.
Another YouTube channel had also uploaded the same video on August 26, suggesting that it is from Bangladesh.
Moreover, we found Araihazar Upazila is a block in Narayanganj district of Bangladesh, with weaving being one of the main professions of this area.
A local journalist from Dhaka, Bangladesh, told SouthCheck that the weaving industry is common in Bangladesh, with such videos being common in the region.
For further confirmation, we contacted Md Rubel, and we will update the copy once the user replies.
However, based on the evidence so far, we can confirm that the video is from Bangladesh’s Araihazar.
The claim is false.
