Old video from a fair in Uttarakhand shared as 'stone pelting at Mahakumbh'
The Verdict False
The video dates back to 2024 and shows a tradition at the Bagwal Mela held in Uttarakhand.
What is the claim?
A video of two groups of people seemingly fighting and throwing things at each other is going viral on social media. Posts sharing the video have alleged that it shows an incident from the ongoing Hindu religious festival Mahakumbh that began on January 13 and is taking place in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj.
The video has inlaid text which reads in Hindi, "Visuals from Mahakumbh." Several social media users shared the video pointing out that men in saffron clothes were also involved in the incident. Archive to the posts can be seen here, here, here, here, and here.
Screenshots of similar viral social media posts. (Source: X/YouTube//Modified by Logically Facts)
Kumbh Mela is a religious pilgrimage that is celebrated four times over 12 years. It is the largest gathering of Hindus, where ascetics, saints, and pilgrims from all walks of life come to the holy confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers to take a dip.
However, the video is unrelated to the ongoing Mahakumbh fest and actually shows a tradition at a mela (fair) held in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand's Champawat district.
What are the facts?
Through a reverse image search, we found a video posted on Instagram (archived here) by a user on August 20, 2024, claiming that the video is from the Bagwal festival. Another user (archived here) also shared it on October 9 with the same caption.
Newsflare, an online news video community, also posted a video from the fair on August 19, 2024, titled "Hit me with your best shot; Devidhura stone-pelting festival leaves hundreds injured in Northern India". We were able to match the banner, light posts, the arch-like structure, and other small details in this clip to the viral video. The website wrote in the description of the video that Bagwal Mela is a festival marked by throwing stones. Villagers of Devidhura celebrate the festival by engaging in battle with stones, sticks and shields, the description added.
Comparison of video frames from the viral video to video by Newsflare. (Source: X/Newsflare/Modified by Logically Facts)
We also found a news report by Hindi-language daily Jagran published on August 20, 2024. The report carried a few images from the fair which matched the viral clip.
Comparison of video frames from the viral video to images by Jagran News.(Source: X/Jagran News/Modified by Logically Facts)
They wrote that fruits and stones were pelted for around 11 minutes during the festival, which led to 212 being injured. ABP News also reported on the event and wrote that people from both sides attacked each other with fruits and stones. The game is not only a competition but also a cultural and religious tradition, the report noted. Eleven quintals of apples and peas were reportedly used during the ritual, according to The Times of India.
What is the Bagwal Mela?
The fair is organized during the preparations for the Indian festival of Rakshabandhan in the Champawat district of Uttarakhand. The term ‘Bagwal’ means ‘fight with stones.’ The festival includes four clans, known as Khams—Chamyal, Walik, Gaharwal, and Lamgadiya, who engage in a battle. Initially, the ritual involved pelting each other with stones, but later, in 2013, the court stopped it and replaced it with fruits and flowers.
The verdict
The video of people pelting things at each other is not from Mahakumbh 2025. It shows a ritual from the 2024 Bagwal Mela, held in Uttarakhand during Rakshabandhan.
(This story was originally published by logicallyfacts.com, and republished by english.varthabharati.in as part of the Shakti Collective)
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