On July 5, 2024, President Droupadi Murmu confers 10 Kirti Chakras upon Bravehearts, including seven posthumously, to personnel of the Army and paramilitary forces for displaying indomitable courage and extraordinary velour in the line of duty. After the event, propagandists have started circulating their selective and communal narrative with the claim that both Martyr Anshuman Singh and Abdul Majid’s wives received the Kirti Chakra, but the media only focuses on Captain Anshuman Singh and his wife Smriti. The purpose of this post was to show that two men were martyred. One Muslim did not get the media attention, whereas one Hindu was highlighted a lot in the media. However, these claims are selective, communal and not true.
Communal narrative about the President Droupadi Murmu confers Kirti Chakras upon Bravehearts
An account @AminaaKausar on X (Formerly Twitter) has made a post and said, Anshuman Singh and Abdul Majid sacrificed their lives for the nation. While their wives received the Kirti Chakra, the media only focuses on Captain Anshuman Singh and Smriti.Isn’t that discrimination? The post claims that Abdul Majid and his family did not receive media attention because of discrimination.
Truth, analysis and fact-check on President Droupadi Murmu confers Kirti Chakras upon Bravehearts
As soon as the post came to our knowledge, we conducted research and analysis of the entire event. During research we found that Sepoy Pawan Kumar of The Grenadiers, 55th Battalion, the Rashtriya Rifles; Captain Anshuman Singh of the Army Medical Corps, 26th Battalion, the Punjab Regiment; and Havildar Abdul Majid, 9th Battalion, the Parachute Regiment (Special Forces) from the Indian Army have been conferred the Kirti Chakra posthumously.
In the entire event, Captain Anshuman Singh’s wife Smriti Singh got attention because of young age. Influencers circulated her video in which she can be seen receiving the Kirti Chakra. In a brief conversation with the media, Smriti Singh said, within two months of marriage, he got posted to Siachen. On July 18, we had a long conversation about how our life will be in the next 50 years. We are going to build a house, we are going to have kids, what not. On the 19th morning, I get up, I get a call that he is no more.”
Abdul Majid and another Hindu Sepoy, Pawan Kumar, also received gallantry awards posthumously, but they did not receive much attention on social media compared to Captain Anshuman Singh. Hence, the entire event has nothing to do with religious discrimination as a Hindu Sepoy also did not get the social media attention.
Intent
Propagandists circulate selective, communal claims about the bravehearts who lost their lives in the line of duty.
Conclusion
Claim- Kirti Chakra awardee Abdul Majid’s family did not get media coverage due to religious discrimination.
Fact- Apart from Captain Anshuman Singh, another Hindu Sepoy Pawan Kumar also received the gallantry award. But his family did not get much media coverage.
