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Fact-Check: Indira Gandhi Did Not Host G20 Summit in India in 1983!

This video is from the seven Non-Aligned Movement hosted in New Delhi in 1983.

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A video showing former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi addressing an audience and greeting former Cuban President Fidel Castro is being shared on social media.

What does Indira Gandhi say in the clip?: In her address, Gandhi can be heard welcoming a 'large and eminent galaxy of spokesmen' to Delhi.

  • She also mentions that those present belong to around 100 sovereign nations that 'represent half the world'.

What is the claim?: Those sharing the video have claimed that this clip is from a G20 Summit that was hosted in India 40 years ago.

  • It also states that this proves that Gandhi was the first person to host the G20 Summit in India.

(Archives of similar claims can be found here, here and here.)

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What is the truth?: This clip is from the 7th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) that was hosted in Delhi between 7 to 12 March in 1983 under the Prime Ministership of Indira Gandhi.

  • The video shows former President of Cuba, Fidel Castro passing the gavel to Gandhi as the outgoing chairman of NAM.

  • The G20 forum was founded in 1999 and worked 'outside the public eye' between 1999 to 2008.

  • The G20 leaders met for the first time in 2008 at the peak of the global financial crisis in Washington DC.

How did we find out?: We did a relevant keyword search on YouTube and came across a video posted by the news agency Associated Press (AP) Archive channel.

  • The video was titled, "GS 07 03 1983 Non-Aligned Nations Conference Begins in New Delhi" and posted on 14 March 2022.

  • We matched the keyframes of the video with the viral video and found similarities.

  • Swipe right to see all comparisons.

  • Here is the comparison between the viral video and the AP Archive video. 

    (Source: X/YouTube/Screenshot/Altered by The Quint)

  • We also noticed that the viral video carried a logo, "Har Haath Shakti."

  • We looked for the name on Facebook and came across a page called, "Har Haath Shakti."

  • We found the viral video uploaded on the page on 7 September, two days before the G20 summit was hosted in India between 9 and 10 September.

  • The video was accompanied with the caption that stated that 'a bigger conference than the G20 Summit' was organised in Delhi in 1983 which was called the Non-Aligned Summit.

About the seventh NAM Summit 1983: We found news reports by India Today and The Indian Express about the 1983 NAM Summit that was hosted in India.

  • The reports noted the India's chairmanship of the NAM Summit in 1983 and Gandhi's leadership.

  • The summit was attended by the representatives of 101 countries. India Today noted that it, "represented two-thirds of humanity—the largest ever such gathering in history."

  • This NAM meeting was held between 7 to 12 March in 1983 and this is was the first time when India hosted the Summit.

  • Additionally, the first NAM summit was hosted in Belgrade in 1961.

About G20 Countries: Group of 20 or G20 was founded in 1999 after the Asian financial crisis by leaders to discuss the global economy. The group met for the first time in 2008 at the peak of the global financial crisis.

  • Like other international bodies, the G20 does not have a permanent secretariat. Rather it's presidency is aided by different member countries year after year.

  • India has held the G20 presidency since 1 December 2022 and hosted the summit in New Delhi between 9 and 10 September.

Conclusion: The video is being falsely shared as visuals of the G20 summit supposedly hosted by Indira Gandhi in 1983. However, this is a clip of 7th NAM Summit hosted in Delhi.

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)

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