Did Narendra Modi Visit Grave of Aurangzeb's Son? No, Claim Is False
Narendra Modi is seen paying tribute to Bahadur Shah Zafar's tomb in Myanmar and not to Aurangzeb or his son's tomb.
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An old video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi paying respects at a mazar (mausoleum) is being shared on social media with a claim that the prime minister visited the grave of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's son.
Earlier, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) spokesperson Gajanan Kale had questioned the need for the existence of such a monument.
However, the video which is currently in circulation is from 2017, when Modi visited the tomb of Bahadur Shah Zafar in Myanmar.
Bahadur Shah Zafar, the Urdu poet and the last Mughal emperor, was the son of Akbar II, and not Aurangzeb.
CLAIM
The video is shared with a caption that says, "औरंगजेब के बेटे बहादुर शाह जफर की मजार." [Translation: Aurangzeb's son Bahadur Shah Zafar's mausoleum.]
Some users even shared the video with the claim that it was Aurangzeb's mausoleum.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
A logo of English news channel Republic World could be seen in the viral posts.
Logo of Republic World.
(Source: Screenshot/Altered by The Quint)
On conducting a keyword search on Google using 'Narendra Modi paying tribute to Mughal emperor Republic World', we came across a YouTube video which was a longer version of the viral video uploaded by the channel on 7 September 2017.
The description stated 'PM Narendra Modi paid tribute at tomb of Bahadur Shah Zafar in Yangon earlier today #Myanmar'.
Next, we conducted a keyword search using 'Narendra Modi visits Bahadur Shah Zafar tomb'.
A report by The Hindu stated that on Modi's three-day Myanmar trip of 2017, he visited the mazar of the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar in Yangon.
PM Modi visited Bahadur Shah Zafar's tomb in Yangon in 2017.
(Source: Website/Screenshot)
Modi also tweeted about his visit to Bahadur Shah Zafar's tomb on 7 September 2017.
Modi visited Bahadur Shah Zafar's tomb in Myanmar.
(Source: Twitter/screenshot)
A photograph in the viral video shows Zafar on his deathbed. The same image can be seen on a stock photo website, Alamy.
Comparison between the viral video and Alamy photo of Bahadur Shah Zafar.
(Source: Altered by The Quint)
WHO WAS BAHADUR SHAH ZAFAR?
Emperor Bahadur Shah II, the last Mughal Emperor of India, was famous by his poetic title Bahadur Shah Zafar. He ascended the Mughal throne in 1837 when he was 62. He succeeded his father Emperor Akbar Shah II.
Zafar ruled the throne for 20 years till 1857 when the First War of Independence took place.
He died on 7 November 1862 in Rangoon and was buried in an anonymous grave.
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