Did Prime Minister Narendra Modi Say That One Of The Panj Pyare Was His Uncle? Here’s The Truth.

A video clip of PM Narendra Modi is going viral on social with the claim that PM Modi said one of the “Panj Pyare” of Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, was his uncle.

Sharing the video on Facebook a user wrote, “Breaking News ➖ #Modi in #Punjab.

Modi’s lust for power is making him lose his mental faculties! If he is going to be the PM for the 3rd time, this is dangerous for the country. Narendra Modi has claimed that his uncle was one of the “Panch Pyare” of Guru Gobind Singh!!!

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However, as we investigated, we came to know that the claim was false. PM Modi didn’t say that one of the “Panj Pyare” of Guru Gobind Singh was his uncle. Here’s the fact check.

Fact Check 

We started our investigation by taking some screenshots of the viral video and conducting a reverse image search. As a result, we found the longer version of the video uploaded on the official YouTube channel of PM Narendra Modi. The video was uploaded on 23 May 2023. The caption of the video reads, “PM Modi addresses a public meeting in Patiala, Punjab”. According to the description of the video, “Ahead of the impending Lok Sabha elections in 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a powerful rally amid a passionate welcome by the people of Patiala, Punjab. PM Modi began his address by paying rich tributes to the land of ‘Guru Tegh Bahadur.’ He said, “After the five phases of voting, the message of the people of India resonates with ‘Fir ek Baar, Modi Sarkar’.” He urged Punjab to vote for the BJP to ensure a ‘Viksit Bharat’.”

From the timestamp 17:53 to 18:20, the viral clip can be seen. There, Modi can be heard saying in Hindi, “Sathiyon ye Pradhan Mantri ki baat chhod dijiye, mera toh aapse khoon ka naata hai. Guru Gobind Singh Ji ke jo pehle ‘Panj Pyare’ the usmein mera ek Dwarika ka Panj Pyaro mein tha” (Forget about being the Prime Minister, one of the Panj Pyare of Guru Gobind Singh Ji was from Dwarka). PM Modi pronounced the word Dwarka as Dwarika.

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On further search, we found the text of PM Modi’s speech at the public meeting in Patiala on the Narendra Modi website. Nowhere in the speech, he mentioned that one of the Panj Pyare of Guru Gobind Singh was his uncle. 

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A report on PM Modi’s Patiala rally can be read here. 

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Who was Panj Pyare?

Panj Pyare (the five beloved ones) refers to a gathered ad hoc quintet of five baptized (Amritdhari) Khalsa Sikhs who act as institutionalized leaders for the wider Sikh community. In a historical sense, the term is used to refer to a collective name given to five men − Bhai Daya Singh, Bhai Dharam Singh, Bhai Himmat Singh, Bhai Mohkam Singh and Bhai Sahib Singh – by the tenth Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh during the historic and monumental assembly at Anandpur Sahib in the Punjab region of India on March 30, 1699. 

Among those, Bhai Mohkam Singh (born Mohkam Chand) was from Bet Dwarka (modern-day day Gujarat). In about the year 1685, he came to Anandpur, the then seat of Guru Gobind Singh. He practised martial arts and took part in Sikh battles with the surrounding hill chiefs and imperial troops. He was one of the five who offered their heads in response to Guru Gobind Singh’s call on the Baisakhi day of 1699 and earned the appellation of Panj Pyare. Initiated into the order of the Khalsa, Mohkam Chand received the common surname of Singh and became Mohkam Singh. Bhai Mohkam Singh died in the battle of Chamkaur on 7 December 1704 or 1705 with Bhai Himmat Singh and Bhai Sahib Singh.

Conclusion 

From our investigation, we can say that the claim with the viral video is false. Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn’t say that one of the Panj Pyare of Guru Gobind Singh was his uncle. He actually said that one of the “Panj Pyare” was from Dwarka Gujarat and thus he had a blood relation with the people of Punjab.