As India celebrates its 74th Independence Day, pictures of the national flag hoisted in different parts of the country are widely circulating. Among these photographs a photo of Srinagar’s Lal Chowk with a Tricolor unfurled on the Clock Tower was shared on social media by the Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Below is a tweet by BJP Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher which garnered over 3000 likes and more than 200 retweets.
Tricolour at Lal Chowk Srinagar. Jai Hind 🇮🇳 #IndepenceDay pic.twitter.com/ldNy9cxDBJ
— Kirron Kher (@KirronKherBJP) August 15, 2020
BJP Delhi leader Kapil Mishra and BJP MP and the party’s state president from Ladakh Jamyang Tsering Namgyal also shared the picture. The Fact is Photo of Indian Flag at Lal Chowk is morphed.
What has changed since #5Aug2019?
Lal Chowk #Srinagar which had remained as symbol of #AntiIndia campaign by dynast politicians & #Jihadist forces, has now become Crown of Nationalism.#modihaitomumkinhai
Thanks my countrymen for electing @narendramodi @AmitShah #ModiSarkar pic.twitter.com/4g8doLRUdp
— Jamyang Tsering Namgyal (@JTNBJP) August 14, 2020
FACT CHECK
On closer examination, the photograph appears photoshopped. The flag seems to have been digitally added to an older image of Lal Chowk in Srinagar. This is evident when one looks at the latest pictures of Lal Chowk.
All the latest pictures of Lal Chowk show renovated buildings painted white in the background instead of the brick buildings present in the photograph being circulated. The latest pictures also show no presence of the Indian flag on the Clock Tower.
A comparison of both photos also throws up another significant difference — heavy security presence and shops shut in one while the viral image shows people walking around and shops open. Shops have largely remained shut because of restrictions, earlier due to the security lockdown and later due to Covid-19.
