Old, unrelated video wrongly linked to Ram Temple inauguration in Ayodhya

What is the claim?

The new Ram Temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya will be inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22. Ahead of the inauguration, a video is circulating on social media with the claim that it shows a religious procession (Kalash Yatra) in Ayodhya organized in the run-up to the consecration ceremony at the temple. 

The 2.36-minute video shows people donning saffron clothes and traditional attire, chanting slogans hailing god Ram. Some women can be seen holding a kalash (a pot or urn used in some Hindu rituals) on their heads in the clip. The video was shared on Facebook by a user with a caption in Telugu that roughly translates to, “A tsunami of people at Ayodhya Ramalayam for Vimana Kalasam Puja, Jai Sriram.” The archived version of the post can be found here. Other posts sharing the video with a similar narrative can be found here and here.

The video is also viral on Facebook with the claim that it shows "People from #Nepal walking miles to send their wedding gifts for Sriram." An archive of the post can be found here. 

Screenshot of the claim made online. (Source: Youtube/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, this claim is misleading as the video is not from Ayodhya. The clip is from a procession held in Greater Noida in July 2023.

What are the facts?

A reverse image search of the video’s keyframes led us to an X (formerly Twitter) post from July 2023 which shared the same visuals with the caption: “Bageshwar Dham Sarkar Kalash Yatra in Noida.”

We then found a Hindi news report published by ETV Bharat Delhi on July 9, 2023, which carried visuals similar to the viral video. The report said that a ‘Kalash Yatra’ was held ahead of a Hindu event called ‘Bhagawat Katha,’ which was scheduled to be held from July 10-16, 2023, by ‘Bageswar Dham Sarkar’ in Uttar Pradesh’s Greater Noida. Ahead of the event, held on July 9, devotees participated in a three-kilometer-long ‘Kalash Yatra.’

Further research led us to the official YouTube channel of 'Bageshwar Dham Sarkar’— a temple located in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh. The channel had uploaded a video of the procession on July 9, 2023, with the title, “Jaithpur Greater Noida Shoba Yatra And Kalash Yatra.” Similar visuals from the viral clip can be spotted in this YouTube video around the 0:57 timestamp.

Screenshot of the video shared by Bageshwar Dham Sarkar's YouTube channel. (Source: YouTube/ Bageshwar Dham Sarkar)

According to reports, a ‘Kalash Yatra’ was indeed held in Ayodhya on January 4. The news channel News 18 live-streamed the event on its YouTube channel ‘News18 Debates and Interviews,’ with the title, “Live: Ayodhya Ram Mandir, Akshat Kalash Yatra.” We can see people wearing traditional clothes and holding kalash on their heads, but the visuals differ from the ones seen in the viral post. While the viral post shows people walking on a road with greenery on both sides, the visuals of the January 4 procession show buildings and vehicles on the roads.

Comparison between the viral video claiming to be from Ayodhya and the visuals from the ‘Kalash Yatra’ held there on January 4. (Source:Youtube/News18/Screenshot)

The verdict

Visuals from a religious procession from 2023 in Greater Noida have been shared as a recently-held procession in Ayodhya. Therefore, we have marked this claim as misleading.