A video of 2 minutes 20 seconds where a man addressing a crowd and asking them to boycott Reliance and Patanjali products is going viral on social media claiming that he is the owner of 'Himalaya Drug Company'. Users are sharing this video with a communal spin.

A Facebook user Rahul Raghubhai Jograna shared a video with a claim that "This Mulla is the owner of Himalaya company. There's still time, listen to his speech and be alert. They make beauty products from ayurvedic medicines... from Liv52 syrup to Himalaya neem, tulsi, and hand sanitizer. Share it in groups and stop buying. They will come on their knees. There are many options."

Fact Check

In our investigation, we found that the viral claim is fake. The man seen in the viral video is a Delhi-based advocate, Bhanu Pratap Singh, and has nothing to do with the Himalayas drug company.

After closely looking at the video one can see flags with 'reject CAA, NRC' written on it. The top right corner of the viral video has a logo of 'Times Express Voice of Democracy'. Using these as clues, we found the longer version of the clip on the YouTube channel of “Times Express” uploaded on 26 January 2020. The caption of the video reads, "Stop saying Hindustani - Bhanu Pratap Singh created an uproar amid Muslims regarding CAA". The part of the viral video starts after 4 minutes 36 seconds.

After doing research on Google using related keywords, we found a news article published on January 29, 2020, in which the same video can be seen.  As per the article, Advocate Bhanu Pratap Singh is seen telling the gathered Muslim crowd at Mustafabad in New Delhi to boycott all products of Reliance Industries Limited, including Jio, and petroleum. He says Muslims should use either Airtel, Vodafone, or Idea, whatever brand they want but not Reliance.

According to the information provided on a Himalaya company website Himalaya's founder Mohammed Manal, had passed away in 1986.

In conclusion, a video of an advocate Bhanu Pratap Singh, who was addressing anti-CAA protesters at Delhi’s Mustafabad in January last year was falsely linked to Himalaya Drug Company's founder.