A video of a female passenger singing 'Namo Namo Ji Shankara' on an IndiGo flight earlier this year, is being shared with a false and communal claim that the former retaliated by singing after a Muslim co-passenger offered namaz (Islamic prayers) in his seat during the flight.
BOOM found the claim is false and that there is no communal angle to the incident. The airline also clarified in a statement that the video is from March this year but there were no reports of other passengers being disturbed.
The 23-seconds long clip shows a woman standing in the aisle of the aircraft and enthusiastically singing 'Namo Namo Ji Shankara' - a song from the Bollywood movie Kedarnath - in praise of the Hindu god Shiva. Other passengers can also be seen watching without interruption while a member of the cabin crew records the scene on a mobile phone.
The viral video also includes a voice-over in Hindi that falsely claims that a Muslim man offered namaz in his seat and just as he began to say prayers, the Hindu woman passenger got up from her seat and started singing.
Film writer Darab Farooqui shared the video and wrote, "A Muslim man prays on his seat in an airplane without disturbing anyone, which upsets a Hindu woman and helps her remember her religion."
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Fact Check
First Social Media Post Of The Video Did Not Have Any Communal Claim
BOOM found that the same video was posted by a verified X handle named Drunk Journalist on March 31, 2024. However, the X handle did not mention any communal claim with the video at the time.
After the video went viral on September 9, the account quote tweeted its post from March and clarified that the video had nothing to do with namaz or Muslims.
The original video in the tweet from March also did not contain the Hindi voice-over making the false claim.
Several videos of passengers singing religious songs and even playing musical instruments onboard aircraft went viral during the first half of the year coinciding with the inauguration of the Ram Mandir (temple) in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, drawing flak from social media users.
BOOM also reached out to IndiGo airlines as the cabin crew member in the video is seen wearing the airline's signature Indigo blue coloured uniform.
"No Report Of Any Other Passenger Disturbed": IndiGo
"The incident referred here is from March 2024. The passengers in question were singing religious songs. However, there was no report of any other passenger disturbed in this instance," IndiGo said in a statement.
