Left: Muskan Khan, the 2nd year graduation student who braved anti-hijab protestors last year and Right: Tabassum Shaikh the Karnataka 2nd PUC Topper in Arts Stream. Image Courtesy: Google.

Karnataka Pre-University Course (PUC) Exam results were declared recently. 18-year-old Tabassum Sheikh topped the Arts stream of the PUC exams. Following this achievement by a Hijab-clad girl, discussion around the last year’s controversial Hijab issue was reignited. Tabassum told media organizations that the Hijab ban caused her issues as she has been wearing Hijab since she was 5 years old and it is a part of her identity. However, with the help of her parents, she overcame all the obstacles and aced her exams. Her interview with the Lallantop can be watched below:

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However, some social media users shared a video of a Hijab clad girl who is seen braving a group of anti-Hijab protesters. The users claimed that she was Tabassum Shaikh, the topper of Karnataka PUC Exams. One such Tweet can be seen below:

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However, when we investigated this viral video, we found that the video is not of Tabassum but Muskan Khan. Muskan had become the face of the pro-Hijab resistance in Karnataka last year after her video went viral. Here is the fact check:

Fact Check

We did a keyword search using relevant keywords related to the viral video. We found that the video went viral last year during the peak of anti-Hijab protests in Karnataka schools and colleges. This video was of a second year graduation student from Mandya, Muskan Khan. After this video went viral, Muskan became the face of the resistance against the Anti-Hijab campaign.

In the interview video above, we can hear Muskan explaining what happened to her that day. Anti-Hijab protestors clad in saffron scarves raising the religious slogan of ‘Jai Shree Ram’ accosted her. She confronted them, raised the slogan of ‘Allah-Hu-Akbar’, and continued walking towards her class. Muskan also explains that she is a second year under-graduation student.

PUC exam is an intermediate level exam, which is equivalent to Higher Secondary Certification (HSC) exams given after 12th (10th +2). It is only after passing the PUC exam, one can enroll in graduation courses. Tabassum topped the PUC exam, while Muskan was in second year of her B.Comm course.

In addition, Muskan was studying in P.E.S College in Mandya whereas Tabassum was a student of N.M.K.R.V PU College in Bengaluru.

We have fact-checked many posts in the past where images of unrelated women were shared in the name of Muskan Khan. You can read some of them by clicking on the links below:

Conclusion

The video of a Hijab-clad student confronting anti-Hijab protesters is not of Karnataka PUC topper Tabassum Shaikh. The girl in the video is Muskan Khan, who was then studying in second year of graduation in a college in Mandya. Last year, during the peak of anti-Hijab protests in Karnataka, anti-Hijab protesters confronted her. This video is now being shared in the name of Tabassum, who topped the Karnataka PUC exams.

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Title:Video of Muskan Khan standing up against Anti-Hijab Protestors falsely shared in the name of Karnataka PUC Topper Tabassum Sheikh…

Fact Check By: Harish Nair

Result: Misleading

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