Video of Chehlum Procession Peddled With False Communal Spin Ahead of G20 Summit

This video shows a traditional Chehlum procession of the Shia Muslim community and not a communal rally.

Fact-Check: This video does not show a communal protest by the Muslims in Delhi. 

(Source: Altered by The Quint)

A video of a group marching on the streets has gone viral on the internet amid the preparations taking place in Delhi for the G20 Summit.

What is the claim?: Users are claiming that Muslims living in Delhi took out a procession and 'engaged in communal sloganeering' despite the imposition of Section 144, which prohibits the assembly of four or more people in an area.

• It also states that this procession took place even though the Shobha Yatra for Janmashtami was cancelled.

Who shared it?: Along with several social media users, Sagar Kumar working with right-wing website Sudarshan TV and social media personality Ritu Rathaur have shared this claim.

The post had 525K views at the time of writing this story. 

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: X/Screenshot) 

(Archives of similar claims can be found here, here and here. We also received a query about this on our WhatsApp tipline.)

What is the truth?: The video is being shared with a false communal twist.

• It shows the Chehlum procession of the Shia Muslim community taking place in Delhi on 6 September, which predates the G20 Summit.

• The Delhi Police also shared that these claims are false and that the procession is unrelated to the G20 Summit.

How did we find out?: Upon conducting a keyword search on Google, we came across a post by the Delhi police on X (formerly Twitter) shared on 7 September about the viral video.

• Delhi police clarified that this procession was carried out with due permission before the G20 Summit, which starts on 9 September.

• They also said that it was not a communal protest but a traditional practice of the community.

More traffic advisory related to the procession: India Today and the Hindustan Times reported that Chehlum procession would take place on the morning of 7 September.

• A traffic advisory had also been issued by the Delhi Police to prevent chaos and hold up.

• The notice clarified that the procession would begin on 6 September at 8:30 in the morning, a day prior due to the G20 weekend.

• Further, it mentioned the route of the procession and the roads where traffic was regulated when the procession started.

• The notice also mentioned that a religious and public meeting was going to organised on 6 and 7 September.

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 the holy Prophet Mohammad.

Conclusion: The Chehlum procession video is being shared with a false communal twist, rather, it is a traditional ritual which was taken out after due permission of the Delhi police.

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