A video which shows a huge crowd protesting on the streets and one of the protesters speaking to the media about repealing a law and fulfilling "the students' demands" is being shared on social media.
The claim links it to the ongoing protests against the 'Agnipath' scheme launched by the Defence ministry for recruiting soldiers in the Army, Navy, and Air Force on a short-term contractual basis – and it shows the man running away on being asked about the scheme.
It insinuates that the ones protesting know nothing about it. However, in actuality, the video is not related to the ongoing protests against the scheme.
We found that the video dates back to January 2022, and shows the Railway Recruitment Board's Non-Technical Popular Category (RRB-NTPC) exam protests that took place across India, after candidates said that the introduction of a second exam for the selection process amounted to "cheating".
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
Using InVID, a video verification tool, we divided the video into multiple keyframes and ran reverse image searches on some of them.
The search led us to a tweet, dated 31 January 2022, which carried a longer version of the viral video.
Here, a clearer logo could be seen on the top right corner, which read, 'Principle of News'.
Next, we looked for this channel on YouTube and came across a video uploaded on 28 January.
The video, titled, "RRB-NTPC का मतलब पता नहीं लेकिन कर रहे छात्रों के लिए Protest | RRB-NTPC Latest News," which contained the claim, starting 32 seconds into the video.
[Translation: Doesn't know the meaning of RRB-NTPC but he's protesting for the students | RRB-NTPC Latest News.]
As per the video's title, it showed visuals from protests against the Railway Recruitment Board's Non-Technical Popular Categories (RRB-NTPC) examination, when railways aspirants took to the streets in protest against the RRB announcing a second computer-based test (CBT) for the selection process, which was not mentioned in an earlier circular for the examination.
The man in the video couldn't answer questions regarding the exam and the protest directed at him, and ran into the crowd around him when pushed to answer a few.
The video was taken at least five months before the Agnipath scheme was announced by the government.
WHAT IS THE 'AGNIPATH' SCHEME AND WHY ARE PEOPLE PROTESTING?
On 14 June, the central government announced the Agnipath scheme for recruiting soldiers into the Army, Navy, and Air Force, largely on a short-term contractual basis, aiming to control the growing salary and pensions bill. The soldiers recruited under this scheme will be called 'Agniveers'.
Youths between 17.5 and 21 years of age are eligible to apply under the scheme, which provides employment for a period of four years. However, only 25 percent of those who serve will be appointed to permanent positions after four years of service.
Following the protests, the government increased the age limit to 23 for the year 2022.
Those aspiring to join the forces have protested against the scheme for many reasons, including the duration of service under the scheme.
Additionally, protesters have expressed concerns regarding the skills they gather during training, asking where they would be able to use them if they don't get appointed to permanent positions.
As the protests enter the sixth day amid calls for a 'Bharat Bandh', the Indian Army announced that it would begin recruitment under this scheme on 22 July.
Over 500 trains were cancelled, and massive traffic snarls were seen along the Delhi-Noida and Delhi-Gurugram borders. One person died in the protests that took place in Telangana.
Clearly, a video of a person participating in the RRB-NTPC examination protest in January 2022 is being incorrectly linked to the ongoing pan-India protests against the government's Agnipath scheme for recruiting people into the defence forces.
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