Video of a brawl between college students and bus staff in Kerala is shared with false communal spin.
Claim
Hindu women have to wear Burqa else they will not be allowed in the Bus. This is Communist rules KERALA
Rating
Explanation
A video of girls in burqa fighting in a bus is widely shared to claim that Hindu women have to wear burqa or else they will not be allowed in the bus as it is Communist rules in Kerala. The post further mentions “In 1901 Kerala had over 70% Hindu population and as per latest 2011 its 54.5%. No doubt why it is on decline”. Some of the posts with such a claim can be seen here and here.
This video is from Kerala, where Muslim Womens are allegedly threatening Hindu Women that they will have to wear Burqa else they will not be allowed in the Bus
This is Communist ruled so called God's own state Kerala.#Kerala #KeralaFiles #IslamIsTheProblem pic.twitter.com/VYGMbyHl25
— Rudhra Nandu (@rudhranandu) October 27, 2023
What is the truth?
When listening to the audio of the viral video, we found that it does not have enough clarity. It appears to be a fight with a person asking, “Is this your bus? Is this your place” No other details could be inferred from the video.
With further search, we found a video on Reporter Live Facebook page where a few girls in burqa are seen protesting in front of a bus. The bus number, word written in front of the bus, the blue coloured panel on the front and the colour of a girl’s attire and her watch appear to match in both viral and Facebook videos. This video is posted with the hashtags ‘Kasargod’ and ‘studentsbusissue’. The caption too is related to the bus stopping at a stop.
The Reporter Live article dated 22, October 2023 reported that the incident was a protest of students from Kansas Women’s College and that it happened in Bhaskara Nagar on Kumbala-Mulleria KSTP road. Some buses are often not stopping at the RTO stop installed in front of the Kansas Women’s College. This led to the college students fighting with the bus staff and protesting to make the bus stop at the said stop. Police intervened and promised to solve the issue.
YouTurn reached out to Kumbla Police Station SHO, and it was revealed that the viral video which depicts burqa-clad women allegedly forcing Hindu women to wear burqas has been a topic of investigation. The police clarified that the claim misrepresents the actual events. The incident took place inside a bus near the Doctor’s Hospital due to the absence of a nearby bus stop. Student agitation led to the bus being stopped, but there were no communal or related aspects to the incident.
The police further confirmed, “The video’s narrative does not align with the true events. The incident took place between Kumbhala and Narayana Mangalam. Furthermore, just 100 meters away, there is a city shelter, which has placed additional pressure on students in the area to catch the bus.” When searching the Google Maps we found that the said Khansa Women’s College and Doctors hospital are in between Kumbla and Narayanamangalam. This confirms that the video is not related to wearing a burqa in bus but is a clash between students and bus staff for not stopping the bus at a stop.
Conclusion
It is found that the video of a brawl between college students and the bus staff for not stopping the bus at a stop is shared with false communal spin. No rule that ‘Hindu women need to wear burqa in the bus in Kerala’ was made.
