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Untruths about Mahatma Gandhi floating on social media

Social Media has recently turned into something of a watchdog for Mainstream Media. But there are times when Social Media falls prey to hoaxes. One common genre of hoaxes is fake photos/quotes of Mahatma Gandhi. Today on his birth anniversary, we attempt to debunk some of these myths. You may have seen some earlier, and also may have known that these are fake, but chances are, you might see them again today:

Fake pics:

1. Mahatma Gandhi Dancing 

Obviously this is not Gandhi dancing with some foreigner woman,  but it actually is an Australian actor who was dressed up as Gandhi. UntitledTwo give-aways in this pic are:

A. The man’s rather muscular arm

B. The man’s footwear is quite unlike Gandhi’s

(Source of images: 1, 2)

2. Nathuram Godse assassinating Mahatma Gandhi

The chances of someone capturing this exact moment are almost zero but still a pictures which claims to be of that event is found floating around. In fact it is from the movie titled “Nine Hours to Rama” in which German actor Horst Buccholz played the role of Godse.

2

3. Mahatma Gandhi rubbing nose with a foreigner woman

Photoshopped picture. The real photo is of Gandhi talking to Nehru. 3

 

Fake quotes:

1. “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win”

Catchy, makes sense, but not said by Mahatma Gandhi apparently, although it is always attributed to him. There is no recorded instance of Gandhi saying this, but a close variant first appears in a 1918 US trade union address by Nicholas Klein

2. Interviewer: “What do you think of Western Civilization?” Gandhi: “I think it would be a good idea.”

Again there is almost no evidence of Gandhi saying this. The earliest appearance of this quote was  good 20 years after his death, and that too only in the form of 2nd hand information. It was mentioned in The Seattle Times newspaper that the exchange was mentioned in a television documentary on a major U.S. network. And after that it has been recirculated multiple times but there is no real conclusive evidence of Gandhi having said it.

In conclusion, do always keep this Abraham Lincoln quote in mind:

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OpIndia Staffhttps://www.opindia.com
Staff reporter at OpIndia

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