Did Jawaharlal Nehru say he was not a part of the freedom struggle?
Claim
Rare video… I was not involved in the freedom struggle at all. Rather, I opposed it. Nehru ji
Rating
Explanation
In a 49-second viral video of the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru’s statement is purported on X (formerly Twitter), where he said, “I was not involved in the fight for independence at all; in fact, he opposed it. The Muslim League was started in 1911, and it was encouraged by the British to create a faction in our eggs, and they did succeed.” In the claimed viral video, Nehru said that he was not involved in the fight for independence at all.
दुर्लभ वीडियो…
“मैं आज़ादी की लड़ाई में बिल्कुल भी शामिल नहीं था। बल्कि मैंने इसका विरोध किया था।”
नेहरू जी। pic.twitter.com/WRS24CeIza
— राकेश धवन मोदी का परिवार (@RakeshD53269770) June 28, 2024
The same viral video was widely shared by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters on X and can be seen here, here, here, and here.
What’s the truth?
We ran a reverse image search using the keyframes of the viral video, and we found a 45:32-minute full-length video of the interview uploaded on the ‘Prasar Bharati Archives’ YouTube channel. The video description states that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s last significant interview was with American TV host Arnold Michaelis.
The viral video starts at the 14:30-minute mark of the YouTube video. The audio in the viral video is unclear, but the YouTube video has better audio quality. The conversation between Arnold Michaelis and Nehru is as follows:
Arnold Michaelis: Are you and Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Jinnah all involved at that point and before the point of independence and then partition in the fight for the independence of India from British domination?
Nehru: Mr. Jinnah was not involved in the fight for independence at all; in fact, he opposed it. The Muslim League was started about 1911, I think. It was really started by the British, encouraged by them so as to recreate factions, and they did succeed to some extent. Well, ultimately, there came the partition.
According to the conversation between Jawaharlal Nehru and Arnold Michaelis, Nehru never mentioned that he did not take part in India’s freedom movement; the viral video is clipped and falsely shared.
The video clearly shows that Nehru was talking about Jinnah. All Indian citizens know well that Nehru played a significant role in India’s fight for independence. Earlier, a clip from the same interview was shared to falsely claim that he was the reason behind the country’s partition.
Read More: A video clip of Nehru’s interview is shared with misleading claims on India’s partition.
Conclusion
Jawaharlal Nehru never said that he did not take part in India’s freedom movement; he was actually talking about Jinnah. The viral video was clipped and shared with misleading narratives.
