A video of a special pilgrimage train decorated for the annual celebration or Urs of Badshah Qadiri, a Sufi leader, is viral with the false communal claim that it shows Muslims converting a passenger train into a 'Muslim Express' to run between Hyderabad and West Bengal.
BOOM found that the train was running between Hyderabad, Telangana and Wadi, Karnataka for the annual celebration of the Urs of Badshah Qadiri in Gulbarga, Karnataka. We also reached out to Rakesh, Chief Public Relations Officer, South Central Railway, who corroborated the same.
Urs means the celebration of the death anniversary of a Sufi saint, usually held at the saint's dargah. The Urs of Badshah Qadiri was celebrated at Halkatta Shareef, Karnataka. Syed Mohammad Badshah Qadri-ul-Chishti Yamani Raichuri was a Sufi saint of the Chisti order in India and was known commonly as Badshah Quadri or Badesha Qadri.
The 30 seconds video is being shared with the caption, "The train going from Hyderabad to West Bengal was converted into Muslim Express by Jihadis. The guard is saying that the train will not go like this, but the Jihadis are adamant that the vehicle should be sent like this only."
(Original caption in Hindi - हैदराबाद से पश्चिम बंगाल जाने वाली ट्रेन को जिहादीयों ने बना दिया। गार्ड कह रहा है ऐसे गाड़ी नही जायेगी किन्तु जिहादी अड़े हैं कि गाड़ी ऐसे ही भेजो।)
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The same video is being shared widely on Facebook with the misleading claim.
BOOM also received the video on its helpline number for verification.
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral video is of a special pilgrimage train scheduled to run for the 46th celebration of Urs of Badshah Qadiri at Halkatta Shareef near Wadi in Gulbarga district, Karnataka.
These pilgrimage trains are run by the Indian Railways every year between Hyderabad, Telangana and Wadi, Karnataka during the celebration of the Urs.
Taking a hint from the visuals in the viral video, we found other videos of the same train engine running with the same placard for the 46th Urs festival as seen in the viral video. The YouTube channel 'gohash' had uploaded a video report on August 2, 2023, on the celebration of the 46th Urs – e – Shareef of Great Saint Hazrath Khwaja Syed Mohammed Badesha Quadri Chisthy Yamani with visuals of the same train seen in the viral video.
The same train engine number: 13418 can be seen here as in the viral video.
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We found another video from August 4, 2023, which has visuals of the same train engine.
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South Central Railways' special Urs trains for Halkatta Shareef
South Central Railways also released a press release on the "Unreserved Special Trains between Hyderabad – Wadi for Urs Celebration" on July 27, 2023.
The press release reads, "In order to clear extra rush of pilgrims attending 46th Anniversary Celebrations of Urs – e – Shareef of Great Saint Hazrath Khwaja Syed Mohammed Badesha Quadri Chisthy Yamani on 1st August, 2023 at Halkatta Shareef near Wadi junction four special trains will be run as detailed below:"
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South Central Railways has been organising these special trains annually during the Urs festival for pilgrims to commute to Halkatta Shareef in Karnataka. We found tweets with similar travel notifications from 2017 and 2018.
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Similar special pilgrimage trains are operated for both Hindu and Muslim festivals by the Indian Railways.
BOOM then reached out to South Central Railways PRO, Rakesh, who denied the viral claim associated with the video. Rakesh told BOOM, "The viral claim is false, South Central Railway runs special trains every year on the Sufi saint's 'Urs'. This time it was run between Wadi and Hyderabad on August 1 and 3 . We do this several times a year. Special trains are also run on Hindu festivals Holi, Diwali and Ashada Ekadashi. This is done in view of the crowd."
Urs – e – Shareef of Great Saint Hazrath Khwaja Syed Mohammed Badesha Quadri Chisthi Yamani is celebrated annually when special trains are run between Hyderabad, Telangana and Wadi Junction, Karnataka by the Indian Railways.
Videos of special trains being decorated over the years for the Urs
We also found several videos posted on Facebook and YouTube over the years dating back to 2015 with the same placard on the special train being decorated by Muslim devotees.
2015
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2018
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2019
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(With inputs from Sachin Baghel)