Propaganda on Dalit atrocities in India by Pakistani users posing as Dalits!
Jai Bhim, I am Anya Valmiki on Dalit BaatCheet, let’s take a look at the news updates…” A woman anchor on Facebook, X and YouTube begins a news bulletin over Dalit atrocities in India. After watching this anchor and channel, people seem to believe that this is a Bahujan media organization in India, that provides outspoken coverage of the issues of Bahujans. However, there’s a twist suggesting some doubts about its Indian origin or its inclination towards Bahujan interests. The DFRAC team has published a comprehensive media report on this so-called media channel.
Introduction to Dalit BaatCheet by Jiya Kumari:
The handle named Dalit BaatCheet by Jiya Kumari is available on all social media platforms. Dalit BaatCheet by Jiya Kumari consistently uploads news on Dalit atrocities on her Facebook, X and Instagramaccounts. Additionally, there is a YouTube channel as well by the name of ‘Dalit BaatCheet by Jiya Kumari‘ where the same videos and shorts are uploaded, which are posted on social media accounts. Notably, two women mainly appear in the role of anchor, the first one is Jiya Kumari and the second lady is Anya Valmiki.
Is Dalit BaatCheet by Jiya Kumari an Indian media channel?
While sharing the news of Dalit atrocities in India on this channel, anchor Jiya Kumari uses the word “country”. Here we are giving the example of a video uploaded on Jiya Kumari’s X handle on August 3, 2021, in which she narrates the ordeal of a Dalit family being threatened by an upper caste man in Tamil Nadu. Following the ordeal, she says: “Jai Bhim, various incidents happen on Dalits in the country every day.” Moreover, in most of her videos, she addresses “the country” in such a way that she is considered an Indian, but is she an Indian? This is a significant question because, from the information we have found, the matter seems to be something else. Further, in a tweet on Independence Day, August 15, 2023, Jiya Kumari shared a poster featuring the famous statement by Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar: “We are Indians, Firstly and Lastly.
Facebook Page operated from Pakistan
There is a page on Facebook by the name of Dalit BaatCheet by Jiya Kumari. This page has sustained 13k followers. On examining the ‘About’ of this Facebook page and inspecting the Page Transparency, it was revealed that this page is being operated by an individual from Pakistan. Whereas a page named Jiya official has been tagged and mentioned in numerous posts by Dalit BaatCheet by Jiya Kumari. The page named Jiya Official has 141 likes and 163 followers. Upon examining the About and Page Transparency sections of this page, it was discovered that it is managed by two individuals based in Pakistan. In the collage given here, you can observe the Page Transparency of both the Facebook pages of Jiya Kumari, in which the location is visible as Pakistan.
Event Organised as Per PKT (Paskistan Standard Time)
An event was organized on Facebook on 7 February 2024, commemorating the birth anniversary of Rama Bai Ambedkar, wife of Baba Saheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar, from the page of Dalit BaatCheet by Jiya Kumari. The event was set for 9 o’clock, but this event was organized according to PKT i.e. Pakistan Standard Time which you can see in the screenshot provided below.
Likes on Pak Social Media Handles
Upon investigating Jiya Kumari X’s account, the DFRAC team found that Jiya Kumari has liked the posts of several Pakistani X-users including Huawei Pakistan and Vivo Pakistan in the year 2021 which is visible in the graphic below.
Who are Anya Valmiki and Jiya Kumari?
Furthermore, we inspected all the social media accounts of Jiya Kumari. However, we did not find any visuals on her timeline of reporting any live coverage of events, interviews, meetings or travel anywhere. On a related note, our team searched various social media platforms to gather information concerning Anya Valmiki, but we could not discover any information related to her.. However, during this time we stumbled upon some information that raised numerous doubts about Jiya Kumari.
Jiya Kumari’s attempts to connect with Bahujan media organisations of India:
The handle Jiya Kumari is continuously trying to connect with Bahujan media organizations of India. Through this account, consistent efforts are being made to engage with Indian Bahujan media institutions, political parties involved in Bahujan politics, social workers and social media influencers. Its hallmark can be noticed in the post made by a Bahujan media organization named ‘National Dastak’ urging all Bahujan channels to join and create a WhatsApp group. In this, National Dastak had asked all Bahujan channels to send their mobile number, and channel name through DM i.e. direct message. In its response, Jiya Kumari had given her mobile number, name and link to the YouTube channel. On examining the mobile number given by Jiya Kumari, it was revealed that the country code given in it is +44, indicating that it originates from the United Kingdom depicted in the screenshot provided below.
Jiya Kumari’s contact number is a ‘Riddle’
Jiya Kumari’s contact number is a puzzle. For instance, the number provided on X(Twitter) to connect with Bahujan media organizations is +44 7853 485578. Following this, we found on Facebook that the WhatsApp number has been embedded in many videos. When we clicked here, we came to know that number with country code +66 for Thailand, which is +66 64 202 9919. Further, During a chat with a user, Jiya Kumari had given her WhatsApp contact details as 03216069368. You can see this in the graphics below.
Numerous YouTube channels of Jiya Kumari
On investigating Jiya Kumari’s x (Twitter) account, it came to light that the account is linked with several YouTube channels. In 2020, a channel by the name of “Dalit Voice with Jiya Kumari” was quite active on YouTube. Jiya Kumari had also tweeted the link of the video uploaded on that channel. However, when we clicked on the YouTube link, we found that the channel had been deleted. Jiya Kumari also shared the link to a YouTube channel named “Dalit Voice” in several tweets. This channel is currently active, but no video has been uploaded on this channel for the last 3 years.
Fake/Misleading News no. 1
Jiya Kumari stated in the news that in Rajasthan, a Dalit groom was punished for riding a mare and the casteists thrashed the groom and Procession guests.
Fact-Check
Fact check revealed that this incident was not from Rajasthan but from Kanpur in UP. According to Lallantop’s report, the dispute was not about the Dalit groom riding the mare but about taking out the wedding procession first. The procession of the Dalit community and upper caste community arrived at the same time, after which the administration took out the procession of the Dalit community first, due to which the infuriated upper castes attacked the Dalit procession.
Source: Lallantop
Fake/Misleading News no. 2
Jiya Kumari claimed that a Dalit elderly man was beaten to death by Brahmins for touching the idol of Goddess Durga in UP’s Pratapgarh.
Fact-Check
The DFRAC team fact-checked this news on 5 October 2022. According to the police, there was no caste angle in this dispute. Dalit elderly Ram Sajeevan had a dispute with the upper caste youth over leaving him on the bike. Following this, Ram Sajeevan got injured and succumbed to his injuries during treatment in the hospital.
Fake/Misleading News 3
While talking about the caste census in a video, Jiya Kumari asserted that only 10 per cent of minorities live in India.
Fact-Check
According to the Press Information Bureau based on the year 2011 census, minorities in India include Muslims 14.2%, Christians 2.3%, Sikhs 1.7%, Buddhists 0.7%, and Jains 0.4%.
Source: PIB
Conclusion
Are Jiya Kumari and Anya Valmiki just names or reality? These questions are being raised as their virtual identity appears to be clear yet the reality seems to be dark, blurry and hidden. Moreover, both of their pages are operated from Pakistan and the numbers belong to Thailand and Europe. However, the coverage of incidents emphasizes Dalit atrocities in India. There is significant information in this which is fake and misleading. This fact also poses some questions on the authenticity of Dalit BaatCheet by Jiya Kumari as a media organization. At the same time, the question is being raised whether Jiya Kumari and Anya Valmiki are raising their voice against Dalit atrocities or doing propaganda under the guise of spreading fake news and misleading information.
