Fact Check: Viral image showing Nehru and his Cabinet at a dinner table is of a banquet held by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel but not an Iftar party
An image of former Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru and other leaders eating at a dining table is going viral with a claim that it shows us the first Iftar party given by the Congress government in honour of Maulana Abul Kalam.
An image of former Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru and other leaders eating at a dining table is going viral with a claim that it shows us the first Iftar party given by the Congress government in honour of Maulana Abul Kalam. Maulana Abul Kalam was the Education Minister in Nehru’s Cabinet. In the image, we can see Dr. Ambedkar, President Dr. Rajendra Prasad, V K Krishna Menon and others.
The claim in Telugu goes as: “*కాంగ్రెస్ మొదటి బుజ్జగింపు రాజకీయాలు ఎప్పుడు, ఎందుకు ప్రారంభించారు?*
స్వతంత్ర భారతంలో తొలి బుజ్జగింపు!! 1947లో, జవహర్లా
అయితే మీరు ఈ చిత్రంలో సర్దార్ వల్లభ్‌భాయ్ పటేల్‌ను చూడలేరు ఎందుకంటే అతను ఈ ప్రభుత్వ ఇఫ్తార్ విందును వ్యతిరేకించాడు. ఎందుకంటే కొన్ని నెలల క్రితం మేము హోలీ మరియు దీపావళికి హిందువులకు ఎటువంటి పార్టీ ఇవ్వలేదు, అప్పుడు ఈ తప్పుడు సంప్రదాయాన్ని ప్రారంభించడం చెడ్డ విషయం. దేశం కోసం ప్రమాదకరమైనది.
నెహ్రూ మొదలెట్టిన ఈ బుజ్జగింపు లాల్ బహదూర్ శాస్త్రి ద్వారా నిలిపివేయబడింది. కానీ ఇందిరా గాంధీ మళ్లీ ప్రారంభించారు. ఆ తర్వాత అది నిరాటంకంగా కొనసాగింది, ఆ తర్వాత నరేంద్ర మోదీ ఈ బుజ్జగింపును ఆపేశారు.”
When translated, it reads: “Why and when did the Congress government begin appeasement politics in Independent India!! In 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru organized an iftar party for his Cabinet colleague Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam. Dr. Ambedkar and President Dr. Rajendra Prasad are also seen in the picture. There are many ministers including VK Krishna Menon.
But you will not see Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in this image because he opposed this government hosting the Iftar dinner. Because he felt that a few months ago, the government did not give any party to the Hindus on the occasion of Holi and Diwali. Then it is a bad precedent which is dangerous for the country.
This appeasement politics started by Nehru was stopped by Lal Bahadur Shastri. But Indira Gandhi started it again. After that, it continued unabated till Modi stalled it again.”
Fact Check: The claim is misleading. The image does not show an Iftar party for the Nehru Cabinet, it shows a dinner hosted by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel for the Cabinet.
When we performed Google reverse image search, we found that the image was published on stock image website, alamy. The caption of the image in Marathi reads as “मराठी: चक्रवर्ती राजगोपालचारी
It states that “Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Maulana Azad, and other ministers attended the banquet in honor of Dr. Chakravarti Rajagopalachari who was elected as the Governor General of India”. The stock image quotes an article published on mid-day.com about Babasaheb Ambedkar.
Another image showing the same dinner party from a different angle was published by BBC Marathi in 2017. The caption of the image states that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel hosted a lunch to mark Gopalachari’s election as the first Governor General of India. Along with Prime Minister Nehru,Dr. Ambedkar, other ministers can be seen. – June 1948.
On further research, we also found that the image was taken by Homai Vyarawalla, the first lady of Indian Press photography. A few rare photographs shot by her can be seen in this report.
Here is the screenshot of the image published in the report.
Hence, the image in circulation is not showing the Iftar party hosted by the Congress government during Nehru’s regime, it is a dinner hosted by Sardar Patel when C Rajagopalachari was elected as the Governor General of India.