An image showing Jawaharlal Nehru getting restrained by a man is making rounds on social media platforms. The image has been misleadingly shared by several users on X(formerly Twitter) with the false claim that Nehru was slapped hard by Swami Vidyanand Videh for saying that the people of “Hindu Arya Samaj” are refugees in India.

Sharing this Image on X(Twitter), an account with the username @sushilkumarc wrote: “This pic was taken when Nehru was slapped hard on the face by Swami Vidyanand Videh.

Reason: Nehru said in his speech at a function that the people of “Hindu Arya Samaj” are refugees in India. On hearing this, Swami Vidyanand Videhji, who was the chief guest of the function”.

In addition, several shared this image on X and made similar claims.

Fact-Check

The DFRAC team initiated the fact-check process by investigating the claim made through the viral image. We conducted a keyword search in this regard. No media reports came to light citing any information related to the above claim.

For further investigation, we reverse-searched this image on Google which led us to an archive of Associated Press(AP)  images showcasing the same image with the title: “NEHRU ALMOST FALLS“. The description of the image reads: “A security man grabbed Indian Prime Minister Nehru to keep him from plunging into a riotous crowd at a meeting of the Congress Party in Patna, India, January 1962. Later in the year, Communist China’s attack on India plunged Nehru into new troubles.”

Moreover, we also found an archive of the Newspaper The Florence Times from Jan 1962 featuring a similar image with a similar caption. Furthermore, the event was also reported by Indian Express in its Jan 6, 1962 Newspaper edition.

Conclusion

It is clear from DFRAC’s Fact-Check that the Nehru was not slapped by Swami Vidyanand Videh. Originally, the image was from a 1962 congress party event at Patna showing Nehru being grabbed by a security man from plunging into a riotous crowd.

Hence, the claim made by social media users is false.

Analysis: Fake