Recently a video allegedly showing Veer Savarkar in the Andaman Cellular Jail captured by the BBC for a documentary went viral on social media. Sharing the video, a user wrote, “Rare footage of Great Freedom Fighter Veer Savarkar during his “Kala Pani Ki Saja” in Andaman Cellular Jail. This footage was captured by BBC for a documentary during British Colonial rule in India.
Must reach till every Indian.”
However, as we investigated, we came to know that the claim was false. The viral video is a clip from an old documentary by the Film Division of the Government of India. Here’s the fact check.
Fact Check
We started our investigation by conducting a relevant keyword search. This led us to a video uploaded on the YouTube channel of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on 14 August 2014. The caption of the video read, “Life of Shri Vinayak Damodar Savarkar”.
We found that several parts of this video have been cut and compiled into the viral video. A comparison between the screenshots from the viral video and the YouTube video can be seen below.
We noticed the logo of the “Films Division” of the Government of India on the bottom right of the YouTube video.
Taking this clue, we conducted a relevant keyword search that led us to a similar video uploaded on a YouTube channel on 28 December 2013. The description of the video read, “This Filmfare award-winning documentary was directed by Prem Vaidya for the Films Division of the Government of India. It was released in 1983, the birth centenary year of Savarkar.”
We found the same video uploaded on the YouTube channel GandhiServe on 8 February 2012. According to the description, the documentary was produced by the Films Division in 1983. The copyright owner is Films Division/ GandhiServe.
We found the details of this documentary on the website of the Films Division. The documentary was directed by Prem Vaidya and produced by the Films Division in 1983.
This makes it clear that the viral video doesn’t show rare footage of Veer Savarkar in the Andaman Cellular Jail. The clip is from a documentary.
Conclusion
From our investigation, we can say that the claim is false. The viral video does not show rare footage of Veer Savarkar in the Andaman Cellular Jail captured by the BBC for a documentary. The viral clip is from a documentary produced by the Films Division of the Government of India in 1983, which was directed by Prem Vaidya.
Title:Rare Footage Of Veer Savarkar In The Andaman Cellular Jail? Here’s The Fact Check.
Fact Check By: Debanjana BaishyaResult: False
