Fact Check: Video of a foreign saint who walked from Switzerland to India to take part in Maha Kumbh Mela is from 2021
Maha Kumbh Mela is attracting Indians and foreigners equally with its magnitude and grandeur. Everyone is eager to;
Ben Viatee
Maha Kumbh Mela is attracting Indians and foreigners equally with its magnitude and grandeur. Everyone is eager to witness this grand event filled with spiritual experience, vibrant processions, and devotion. Taking a dip in the holy waters is an unforgettable experience for everyone, including spiritual leaders, politicians, etc. The Maha Kumbh is setting records with over 10 crore pilgrims so far. Thousands of devotees from foreign countries are attending the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 at Prayagraj.
In order to be a part of the hype, several social media users are sharing many old and misleading videos and images on the internet. A lot of AI-generated content is also in circulation with misleading claims relating to the Maha Kumbh Mela.
One such video in circulation is about a foreigner, hailing from Switzerland, visiting India and attending the Kumbh Mela after walking all the way from Switzerland. The video shows another person interviewing the foreign citizen where the foreigner is seen saying that he walked for 5 years to get to India from Switzerland, passing through different countries and taking different visas for these countries.
This video is in circulation especially on platforms like Facebook with the captions in Telugu “విదేశీ భక్తుడు సనాతన ధర్మం గొప్ప తనం తెలుసుకొని స్వీజర్ లాండ్ నుండి పుణ్య భూమి అయిన మన భారత దేశం కీ కుంభమేళాకి శివుడి కోసం కాలి నడకన వచ్చాడు భక్తుడు ఇకడ ఉన మన లౌకిక వేదా
Another user shared the video with the caption ”స్వీజర్ లాండ్ నుండి కుంభమేళా
Here is the archive link of the claim.
Fact Check:
The claim is Misleading. The video was shot during Kumbh Mela 2021, which took place in Haridwar.
When we searched the keyframes extracted from the video using Google reverse image search, we found a YouTube video published on a YouTube channel named Sanjay Dhundhwal on June 22, 2021, with the title “Switzerland se pahunche Bharat mein nagrik”
Upon further search, we also found another video published on March 22, 2021, by a YouTube channel named Gautam Khattar, with the title “Haridwar Kumbh 2021॥ Switzerland से लगातार 4 साल पैदल चलकर महाकुम्भ मेले में पहुंचे BEN BABA”
The description of the video states ‘You all know that the world's biggest fair Maha Kumbh is being organized in Haridwar in which we are introducing you to the discussions of the saints. In this series, we will introduce you to Ben Baba of Switzerland who reached India in 4 years after passing through 18 countries.’ In the description, we also found a link to another video published by the same channel which states Ben Baba Part -2 - Switzerland के Ben viatee कैसे बने संत बैन गिरी॥ Christian से Hindu का सफर ॥ Haridwar Kumbh 2021॥“
From this video, we got the name of the saint as Ben Viatee. When we searched for Ben Viatee, we found social media handles and also a website named ‘the hermit crab’ showing his journey by feet from Switzerland to India. Here are Ben Viatte's social media handles.
We also found another video published on the YouTube channel of Ben Viatte about his new book ‘Two Little Wandering Monks’. The description states ‘Gautam Khattar's interview on Ben's new book, "Two Little Wandering Monks". And on the Dharma. And meditation. And spirituality. And love. And making peace. Within and without. Note: This interview was already featured in Ben's last video, "Two Little Wandering Monks - a short movie". This video is the interview alone if we want to focus on Dharma without entertainment.’
Therefore, the viral video is from 2021 and is not recent. The video shows the interview of a saint who visited Kumbh mela that took place in Haridwar in 2021, and who walked to India from Switzerland. The claim is misleading.