Viral Video of Dance at Mangaluru College Shared With False Communal Claim

A video showing four people dancing to a Bollywood song at a college event has gone viral on the internet.

The claim: The video is being widely shared claiming that it shows four boys belonging to the Hindu community from St Joseph Engineering College in Karnataka's Mangaluru, dressed in burqas, dancing in an "obscene manner" to mock burqas and hijabs. 

(Archives of more such claims on social media can be seen here and here.)

What is the truth?: The incident is from St Joseph Engineering College in Karnataka's Mangaluru. It happened during an informal part of the Students' Association competition, which was held on 8 December.

But the communal angle being given to the incident is misleading. Speaking to The Quint, Principal Rio D'Souza said that the performers were four boys belonging to the Muslim community, who were re-enacting a viral dance video.

How did we find out?: We looked up the college’s name for more information regarding the incident.

• We found a news report by The Indian Express which carried a screenshot of the video and mentioned that the four students belonging to St Joseph Engineering College had been suspended for allegedly wearing a burqa and dancing to a Bollywood song.

What did the college say?:  We also came across tweets by the college, where it clarified that the boys in the video belonged to the Muslim community.

(Note: Swipe right to view both tweets.)

• It mentioned that the students had “barged on stage during the informal part of students association inaugural,”  and that the students had been “suspended pending enquiry.”

• “The college does not support or condone any activities that could harm the harmony between communities and everyone,” their statement read.

What did the principal say?: The Quint reached out to Dr Rio D'Souza, principal of St Joseph Engineering College, who denied any communal angle to the incident.

"They are Muslim boys. They're doing a dance called the "ghost dance," from another viral video, they have used the same steps...The dance was done innocently, not to mock any community. They brought burqas from their own homes. There is no communal angle, it is totally innocent (sic)."

Dr Rio D'Souza, Principal, St Joseph Engineering College

D'Souza also mentioned that the boys had initially been suspended after the performance. But the suspension is being revoked after an enquiry into the matter was conducted.

Conclusion: The viral video shows boys from the Muslim community performing to a Bollywood song at an event at St Joseph Engineering College in Mangaluru, Karnataka. The communal angle given to the incident is misleading.

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