New Delhi: A black-and-white footage of a man performing yoga is being widely shared on social media platforms with the claim that it is a ‘rare video’ of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his younger days.
The eight-minute-long clip has a caption that reads: “The rare video of PM Modi which you will be surprised to see. The highest level of yoga sadhna.”
The clip has been shared by many, including Manoj Goel, the national executive member of the BJP’s youth wing. Sharing the clip Tuesday, Goel said that Prime Minister Modi was a “yogrishi” (a yoga master). His post has since been liked by over 600 people and more than 7,000 have viewed it so far.
योगऋषि प्रधानमंत्री @narendramodi जी का योगी रूप #yoga #Modi #PMModi pic.twitter.com/f0fVtkrglh
— Manoj Goel BJP (@ManojGoelBJP) November 24, 2020
The clip was also shared by Gujarat’s Surendranagar MLA Dhanji Patel on his verified Facebook page Monday.
Many other social media users have shared the clip across platforms. A Twitter user named Puneet Sharma shared the video with a caption that said the secret of Prime Minister Modi’s good health was “meditation, yoga, pranayama and hard exercise”.
The secret of @narendramodi ji’s health at this age is that he did meditation, yoga, pranayama and hard exercise. pic.twitter.com/yUIOB4hFXm
— Puneet Sharma 🇮🇳 (@iPuneetSharma) November 23, 2020
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Fact check
ThePrint has found that the man shown in the video is not Prime Minister Narendra Modi but famous yoga guru and founder of Iyengar Yoga, B.K.S. Iyengar. The video was uploaded on YouTube in 2006 and is claimed to have been shot in 1938.
A DVD sold by London-based Iyengar Yoga institute and titled ‘1938 practice’ also contains this video of a young Iyengar performing yoga. The DVD cover mentions that the video is a “classic silent composite of rare footage of B.K.S. Iyengar effortlessly practicing many advanced postures”.
The original video also features Iyengar’s teacher, Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, but that part has been removed from the viral clip.
In collaboration with SM Hoaxslayer
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Since BJP is spreading this, the PM should come out and deny it. We are proud of Iyengar.
……the secret of Prime Minister Modi’s good health was “meditation, yoga, pranayama and hard exercise”.
No one can contest that statement.
Huh I am surprised that users won’t understand the difference between clips judging by how grainy a footage from that era is.