Chandigarh: Indian media is once again trying to use a photo to target Sikhs. After using a photograph of visiting Canadian PM Justin Trudeu’s wife with one Jaspal Atwal to trigger a controversy that Canada was supporting Sikh ‘separatists’ against India, the Indian Media today used a photograph of Pakistani Sikh leader Gopal Singh Chawla with Jamaat-Ud-Dawa chief Hafeez Sayeed to present it as a “hard proof of Pakistan’s support to Sikh militants in Punjab”.
The concerned news is reported by Indian news agency ANI and is being published by various news outlets in India.
Gopal Singh Chawla’s photo with Hafiz Saeed that is being used once against by Indian Media to target Sikhs. It was used by Indian Media in 2015 also
Publishing the news report and photograph of Gopal Singh Chawla with Hafiz Sayeed, The Tribune said: “Hard evidence emerges of Pakistan’s support to Sikh militants“.
The Week’s headline says: “Evidence emerges of Pakistan’s support to Sikh terrorists“.
“लश्कर का पंजाब प्लान बेनकाब, हाफिज सईद संग दिखा सिख आतंकी चावला“, reads Aaj Tak’s headline.
Similar News Reports are also carried by Rediff, CNN News18 and India Today (TV channel).
Using a video of a Jamaat-Ud-Dawa event (that had found mentions in Indian Media reports previously also) attended by Gopal Singh Chawla few years back the Republic TV went on claim that it was R. TV’s EXCLUSIVE Video. Notably, this is same TV channel that had unauthorisedly used a Facebook Live video of Qaumi Awaaz Radio and at that also termed the R. TV had claimed that it was its’ exclusive footage.
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But a simple search on Internet search engine Google exposed the falsehood of Indian Media as the photograph being published by the Indian media outlets as “hard proof” is not new.
PHOTOGRAPH WAS USED by INDIAN MEDIA EARLIER ALSO:
Not only this, even Indian media had used same photograph to forge similar reports earlier also.
The image was used by a blogger Sudhir Vyas in 2015. The photograph was then used by Times of India (ToI) in October 2017.
The same photograph was shared by a Twitter handle @DrGPradhan on 27 July, 2015. It was posed on Facebook on same day by a Facebook page “Kashmiri Pandits- Hindus”.
Pro Khalistan Gopal Singh Chawla of PSGPC met LeT Hafiz Saeed in Muridke just 10 days before #GurdaspurAttack pic.twitter.com/RrfaFgnAQy
— #GauravPradhan ?? (@DrGPradhan) July 27, 2015
It was published by Jag Bani, a Punjabi newspaper, by Punjab Kesri group on July 30, 2015.
This time the photograph is being used at a time when diplomatic ties between India and Pakistan are said to be strained and India’s ministry of External Affairs is accusing Pakistan for not allowing ‘diplomatic access’ to a Sikh Jatha visiting the neighbouring region to celebrate Visakhi.
It is notable that in 2015, Indian Media had used the photograph to link Gopal Singh Chawla to Gurdaspur attack.
Gopal Singh Chawla had expressed surprise over Indian Media reports in a press conference held on 31 July, 2015. Here is the video posted over Facebook by Gopal Singh Chawla:
