Video of Chehlum Procession in Delhi Shared as Protest Against Waqf Bill

This video shows Chehlum procession in Delhi and it is unrelated to protest against the Waqf Amendment Bill.

Fact-check: An unrelated video of a Chehlum procession is being shared to falsely claim that it shows the Muslim community protesting against the Waqf Amendment Bill in Delhi.

(Photo: The Quint)

A video showing a procession at Connaught Place, New Delhi is going viral on social media to claim that it shows the Muslim community protesting against the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024.

The claim also states that former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has turned "Delhi streets to Pakistan".

An archive can be seen here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here.)

What's the truth?: This video is indeed from New Delhi but it does not show Muslims protesting against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

It shows the Chehlum procession that happened on 11 September 2024.

How did we find out the truth?: We performed a reverse image search on some of the keyframes of the viral video on Google and this led us to several YouTube videos from 12 September 2024.

• These videos showed a similar procession with same red flags and in the same location, Connaught Place, New Delhi.

• All the videos suggested that it showed a Chehlum procession, also known as Kala Taziya Juloos, in Delhi.

• You can find them here, here and here.

• One such video showed the same location as seen in the viral video and we noticed name boards like Flavours of China, BIRA 91 and LIC customer zone.

• We also a noticed a sign reading, "Panchkuian Road".

• Taking a cue, we found the same location in Connaught Place on street view of Google maps.

• We also performed a relevant keyword search on Google which led us to a report shared by Dainik Jagran on 11 September 2024.

• The report carried a traffic advisory issued by the Delhi Traffic Police for convenience of Chehlum procession.

• It included a X (formerly Twitter) post by Delhi Traffic Police which stated that this procession would be taken out on 11 September 2024.

• It also mentioned that the procession would pass through Connaught Place.

What is Chehlum?: It is observed by the Shia community on the 40th day after Muharram to observe the death of Imam Hussain, grandson of Prophet Mohammad.

What about Waqf (Amendment) Bill?: The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, aims to modify the Waqf Act, 1995, to address the problems and challenges related to the regulation and management of Waqf properties.

Conclusion: An unrelated video of a Chehlum procession is being shared to falsely claim that it shows the Muslim community protesting against the Waqf Amendment Bill in Delhi.

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