An edited photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a bald head has been going viral online with the claim that the PM shaved his head following his mother Heeraben's demise, according to Hindu customs. BOOM found that the photo is morphed, and the PM has not shaved his head yet.
PM Modi's mother Heeraben passed away on December 30, 2022 at the age of 99. According to the Hindu customs, male family members of the deceased shave their heads during the mourning period or 'shraadh'. This ritual is meant for purification, and is a way to show respect to the deceased and also a way of shedding one's ego before performing other rituals.
Amidst this, false claims of PM Modi also shaving his head in line with these customs are going viral online.
The post is going viral on Facebook with the caption, "Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has shaved on Tiye for his mother according to Hindu customs; Blessed is this Karmayogi?? #PMModiji Emotional tribute to mother Hiraba????"
(Original text in Hindi: माननीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री नरेंद्र मोदी ने हिंदू रीति रिवाज के अनुसार अपनी मां के लिए तिये पर मुंडन करवाया है; धन्य है ये कर्मयोगी?? #PMModiji माता जी हीराबा को भावभीनी श्रद्धांजलि????"
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BOOM also received the same query on our WhatsApp tipline (7700906588).
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the photo is morphed, and the original photo of PM Modi was taken on December 15, 2017 on the first day of the parliament's winter session.
A reverse image search on Yandex helped us find the original photo, through which we were able to conclude that the viral image is morphed.
Several news outlets have also used this photo in their reports and have credited the image to PTI. See here and here.
An image from the same day taken by Reuters helped us conclude the date and event when the photograph was taken.
Here is a side by side comparison of the viral photo and the original photo.
We found that the viral photo first began circulating in January 2021 as a joke.
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The mourning period or shraadh for Heeraben's death will end on January 12, 2023. We searched PM Modi's Twitter for his recent pictures, and found one from December 31, 2022. In the photo, Modi is seen posing with retired Air Marshal PV Iyer and receiving a copy of his book 'Fit At Any Age'. In the photo, Modi does not appear to be bald, which indicates that he has not shaved his head yet.
Also Read:2018 Video Shared As KCR Saying Modi 'Best Friend' After Daughter Named In Scam