A message is being circulated on messaging platform WhatsApp and social media platforms that Himalaya Drug Company’s owner Muhammad Manal has posted an anti-India message on his social media profile. In the video, a man can be heard provoking Muslim youth to change the perspective of India in their favor.
The Himalayan Drug Company
In 1930, Muhammed Manal established the Himalayan Drug Company. Its headquarters are located in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The company mainly produces health care products, including several products based on Ayurvedic ingredients. Its products are popular not only in India but in the United States, the Middle East, and other parts of the world. Currently, the company sells products in over 106 countries. One of the most famous products of Himalaya is Liv 52, that improved liver health and was introduced in 1955.
The message on social media
If the message is to be believed, the person visible in the video is Muhammad Manal, founder, and owner of Himalayan Drug Company. In that case, the visibly younger person in the video should be at least a hundred years old, considering the company was founded in 1930. But the fact is, Mr Manal passed away in 1986, therefore, the person in the video can’t be him.
Reply from Himalaya Drug Company
On 14th October, Himalaya posted a message on its social media account stating that there are many fake social media posts and WhatsApp forwards about the company that is fake and fabricated. It further added that it is a professionally managed company with integrity. The company warned that anyone who has posted or forwarded the fake post should remove it immediately, or they will take legal action.
— Himalaya India (@HimalayaIndia) March 13, 2020
Previous attempts against Himalaya
This is not the first time the Himalaya Drug Company is facing such an issue. Back in March 2020, similar messages were being circulated on social media and WhatsApp. Several posts indicating Himalaya Drug Company funds terrorists flooded the social media platform with the photograph of Philipe Haydon, President, and CEO of Himalaya Drug Company. In the post, it was mentioned that the person in the image was the founder M. Manal.
At that time also the company posted a clarification message stating all the posts against Himalaya on social media are fake. It further added that Himalaya Drug Company is a pre-Independence “Made In India” wellness brand that follows the religion of “healing.”
— Himalaya India (@HimalayaIndia) March 13, 2020
These misleading negative rumors, comments, & photographs about The Himalaya Drug Company that are going around on social media only spread hate & negativity. Read this article from Boom Live https://t.co/JR7hGBIWBq & get factual clarification about Himalaya. #Fakenews
— Himalaya India (@HimalayaIndia) March 15, 2020
Hunting for the person in the video
With a little research on the company’s website, it was clear that the person in the video is not M. Manal. In fact, the founder passed away in 1986, around 35 years ago. So we dove into the task to find who is the person in the video. With little research using Google’s reverse image search, we reached to several social media accounts being run by a person living in Saudi Arabia named Naqi Ahmed Nadwi. There was a link to his website on the Facebook page, but there was no info about him on the website. It only had the default parking page. The domain was registered in May this year.
His Facebook page was created on 22nd August 2020. He often posts content stating Islam is supreme and Islamia Ummah should rule the world.
The video that is being circulated as a statement by the founder of Himalaya Drug Company was posted on his Facebook account after Ram Mandir Bhoomi Pujan in August 2020.
We found two Twitter accounts with the same name and photographs. One was created in 2014, while the other was created in 2020.
According to his old Twitter account, his location was Delhi, India. In his new account, his location in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He is currently working as an administrator in the Saudi Arabian Mining Company – Ma’aden.
He has a Youtube channel as well that was created in December 2019. In his first few videos, he made false statements about NRC, CAA and other issues that were highlighted during that period. Around two months ago, he also posted a video in favor of Sharjeel Imam, Dr. Kafeel and other Muslims who were arrested in connection to anti-CAA riots.
