Fact Check: Uddhav Thackeray Referred to Martyred Indian Soldier as His Brother, Not Mughal Ruler Aurangzeb

New Delhi (Vishvas News). The political activity surrounding the Maharashtra assembly elections is in full swing, with voting scheduled for November 20, 2024, and the results set to be announced on November 23, 2024. Meanwhile, a statement of former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is going viral, claiming that Thackeray called Mughal ruler Aurangzeb his brother.

Vishvas News investigated the viral video and found it to be misleading. Thackeray referred to a martyred Indian soldier named Aurangzeb, not the Mughal ruler.

What is going viral?

Facebook user Choudhary Chandra Pal Singh (Archive) uploaded a video on November 5, 2024, with the caption, “Bal Thackeray’s son says he is the brother of Aurangzeb.”

Investigation

Vishvas News investigated the viral claim once previously as well. Back then to investigate this post, we first extracted several keyframes from the viral video and then searched them through the Google Lens tool. We found the full video on Uddhav Thackeray’s Facebook page, which was live-streamed on Facebook during an event on February 19, 2023. Some parts of this video were edited and shared with the wrong context.

We watched the entire video carefully and found that the viral part comes at the 32 minute mark. Uddhav Thackeray can be heard saying, “Translated from Hindi: He was on his way home on leave to meet his family when terrorists learned that he was traveling alone. They abducted him with the intent to kill. A few days later, his mutilated body was found. Was he not one of ours? He gave his life for this country. If I now say that he was my brother, you might ask, ‘But do you know his name?’ His name was Aurangzeb. He may have been Muslim by faith—yes, he was—but he sacrificed his life for his country. He laid down his life for what we call Bharat Mata. Was he not our brother? To me, he was my own brother.”

Uddhav Thackeray was addressing the people in Andheri, Mumbai, as the chief guest at a program hosted by the North Indian community. The coverage of this program can also be read on the website of ABP Live.

During the previous investigation, Vishvas News contacted Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi regarding this video and she confirmed that the video has been edited and is viral with false claims.

At the end of the investigation, we scanned the profile of the user who posted the fake post and found that the user named Chaudhary Chandra Pal Singh lives in Bulandshahr and has over 300 followers.

Conclusion: Vishvas News investigated and found that the viral post was fake. Amid the Maharashtra elections, an edited and misleading video of Uddhav Thackeray is being circulated to spread misinformation. In reality, Thackeray referred to Aurangzeb, a soldier martyred in Kashmir, as his brother—not the Mughal emperor.

Tags

• Maharashtra Assembly Election
• Shiv Sena
• Uddhav Thackeray