‘Azadi’ slogans in Uttarakhand not a call for ‘Ghazwa-E-Hind’ but protests over paper leak for state recruitment exam – Alt News

A compilation of two videos showing scenes of protests where ‘Azadi‘ slogans were raised — one from 2016 in Delhi, featuring former student leader and now Congress member Kanhaiya Kumar, and another from September 24, 2025, in Dehradun — is being shared by social media users to target the Congress and claim that the party is promoting ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’ and Naxalism.

‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’ is a phrase used by several far-Right groups to suggest an Islamic conspiracy to radicalise the nation.

The clip from 2016 showing Kanhaiya Kumar, then Jawaharlal National University (JNU) student union president, is from after he was released on bail and welcomed by students on campus. At the time, Kumar delivered a speech on sedition charges against him and raised ‘Azadi‘ slogans seeking ‘freedom within India’. The slogan has been used in several protests, notably in Delhi during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Registry of Citizens, across the country. However, the slogan also has links to the Kashmir resistance movement and is often considered secessionist in nature. In fact, in 2020, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath declared that raising ‘Azadi‘ slogans may amount to sedition.

Most users who shared the compilation video claimed that, just like in 2016, even in 2025, Congress supporters were raising anti-India ‘Azadi‘ slogans.

X user Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_), who has been found amplifying misinformation several times in the past, posted the clip on September 24, claiming “Congress has started working aggressively on their mission Ghazwa-E-Hind’. At the time of writing this report, this post had received over 359,000 views and has been reposted over 2,200 times. (Archive)

Azadi slogans in Dehradun today…!!!

It seems Congress has started working aggressively on their mission Ghazwa-E-Hind.. pic.twitter.com/Zp9P1TYOhV

— Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_) September 24, 2025

Another X user, Prashant Umrao (@ippatel), who is a spokesperson of BJP Uttar Pradesh, also shared the same video on September 25 with a caption in Hindi which translates to: “Dictator Indira used to say that — if you can’t rule, then create anarchy. First, in Ladakh, Congress incited violence, and now in Dehradun, urban Naxals supported by Congress have raised slogans of freedom. Naxalism in the jungles is on its last breath, but urban Naxals, with Congress’s support, are dreaming of seizing power”. (Archive)

तानाशाह इंदिरा का कहना था कि- राज न कर सको तो अराजक बनो।

पहले लद्दाख में कांग्रेस ने हिंसा की और अब देहरादून में कांग्रेस समर्थित शहरी नक्सलियों ने आज़ादी के नारे लगाए हैं।

जंगल में नक्सलवाद अंतिम साँसे गिन रहा है पर शहरी नक्सली कांग्रेस के समर्थन ने सत्ता पाने का दिवास्वप्न… pic.twitter.com/zUR2qmsPhs

— Prashant Umrao (@ippatel) September 25, 2025

Several other users posted the viral clip claiming that Congress was encouraging Naxalist and ‘anti-Hindu’ sentiments.

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Fact Check

To understand why ‘Azadi’ slogans were raised in the clip, allegedly from Uttarakhand this year, we used a combination of image and keyword searches. This led us to a longer version of the video shared on Facebook on September 24. The video is from Dehradun and was posted by Pushpa Rawat, who was raising ‘Azadi’ slogans on the mic in the clip.

According to Rawat’s Facebook bio, she is a Zila Panchayat member from the Narendra Nagar assembly constituency and Uttarakhand Swabhiman Morcha leader — an Uttarakhand-based political platform.

In the 13:33-minute-long video posted on Facebook, she is heard raising slogans ‘Bharat Mata ki jai‘ (Hail Mother India) and ‘Vande Mataram‘ at the beginning. She further chants: “Paper leak mafiayo ho barbaad” (May the paper-leak mafia be destroyed), “Down with corruption”, “Matri shakti zindabad” and “Youth power zindabad”. However, the bit where she says ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’ or ‘Vande Mataram’ have been clipped from the viral video and only the Azadi slogan has been retained.

While speaking at the gathering, Rawat said that she was there in solidarity with the youth in their struggle against those trying to destroy their future. She talks about a paper leak and blames Uttarakhand Chief Minister and BJP leader Pushkar Singh Dhami. She concludes with ‘Azadi’ slogans: “…Sadak se lenge azadi, sansad se lenge azadi, iss loottantra se azadi, iss bhrastantra se azadi, zor se bolo azadi, milkar bolo azadi… hum milkar lenge azadi inn mafiayo se, Dhami se lenge azadi, netao se lenge azadi, gundo se lenge azadi, tumhe deni padegi azadi… Bharat mata ki jai! Inquilab zindabad! Vande Mataram!” (…We will reclaim our freedom from the streets, from Parliament, from this loot-regime and from this corrupt system. Freedom! Together we will free ourselves from these mafias, from Dhami, from political leaders, from goons. You will have to give us our freedom… Victory to Mother India! Long live the revolution! Vande Mataram!)

Protests have erupted in Uttarakhand after papers for a state recruitment exam (UKSSSC) on September 21 were allegedly leaked. According to a report by The Telegraph, the accused, Khalid Malik, was arrested and the centre where he was writing his test was reportedly run by BJP leader Dharmendra Chauhan.

Alt News reached out to Vikas Nagar police superintendent Renu Lohani, who is investigating the viral video where ‘Azadi‘ slogans were raised. She said that the investigation was underway and no FIR has been filed so far.

The findings make it clear that the videos neither have any Islamic or Naxalist references nor indicate a Congress conspiracy for ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’. These clips have been shared out of context with misleading communal claims.

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