Misinformation At Manikarnika: How Old Images and False Claims Fuelled Outrage

On 10 January 2025, renovation work at Varanasi's Manikarnika Ghat led to the fracturing of a centuries-old madhi (circular platform). The platform, originally restored by the 18th-century Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar in 1791, contained carved stone effigies of the queen.

What followed in the days after was a social media firestorm. Opposition leaders, including AAP MP Sanjay Singh and Independent MP from Bihar, Pappu Yadav (a Congress supporter), took to X with incendiary allegations. Two specific claims dominated the outrage: first, that idols of Ahilyabai Holkar and Hindu deities had been broken and desecrated; second, that the Kumbha Mahadev Temple had been demolished.

Images purporting to show a damaged temple circulated widely. The BJP government in Uttar Pradesh—in Prime Minister Modi's own constituency—was accused of behaving like "invaders" destroying sacred heritage.

The political potency was obvious. Ahilyabai Holkar is revered for restoring hundreds of temples across India. Moreover, the Manikarnika Ghat is regarded as the most sacred cremation ground of Hinduism. The allegation that a Hindutva government had desecrated a legendary Hindu queen's legacy and demolished a Shiva temple at a most sacred site, was explosive.

There was just one problem: both claims were false.

What Actually Happened

The Khasgi Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Charities Trust has clarified the facts. According to Trust assistant manager Vishal Khanna, quoted in this report: "The demolition of madhi led to three stone pieces with Holkar's idols breaking, but the carved idols themselves remain intact".

The idols have been safely relocated to Gurudham Temple, approximately 3-4 kms from the Manikarnika Ghat, under the custody of the state archaeology department, where the Trust has now commenced worship. There was no desecration, no breaking of the idol itself—the stone slabs that housed the carvings broke, while the carved figures survived undamaged.

As for the Kumbha Mahadev Temple allegedly shown demolished in viral images? Police Commissioner Mohit Agarwal confirmed it stands completely safe. The temple is located at Sri Kashi Vishwanath Dham, approximately 250 metres away from Manikarnika Ghat, and was never part of the renovation work. The images showing it damaged were entirely misleading.

The Truth Behind the Viral Images

Varanasi Police initially described the circulating photographs as "AI-generated"—fabricated using artificial intelligence to show damage that never occurred. Eight FIRs were filed at Chowk police station against those who shared what authorities termed "misleading" content designed to "spread hatred and hurt religious sentiments."

However, Hindi daily Dainik Jagran's fact-check revealed a more precise truth: the viral photograph is not AI-generated but approximately five years old, dating to October 2021 during the Vishwanath Corridor construction.

The image shows debris around temple structures from that earlier project. The same photograph had sparked similar false rumours five years ago, prompting a clarification from temple trust CEO Vishal Singh at the time.

The distinction matters: the image is real but old, showing construction debris from a different project in a different location. When presented as evidence of current destruction at Manikarnika Ghat, it was fundamentally misleading—regardless of whether it was created by AI or simply misattributed.

The temple shown was safe in 2021. It remains safe today. No temple was demolished.

Government Action Against Misinformation

Police filed cases against AAP MP Sanjay Singh, independent MP Pappu Yadav, Haryana Congress leader Jasvinder Kaur, X user Ashutosh Potnis, and four others—Pragya Gupta, Manish Singh, Ritu Rathore, and Sandeep Singh Dev. The complainants were Sangam Lal, Additional Municipal Commissioner and nodal officer for the beautification project, and a project manager from GVS, the executing company.

The accused face charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita carrying three to five years of imprisonment. Police issued 72-hour notices for responses, though authorities indicated forensic laboratory analyses would precede any arrest warrants.

The Holkar Trust's Position

The Holkar Trust's response has been measured and factual, notably different from the political rhetoric that inflamed social media.

Trust President Yaswantrao Holkar, in a letter to Divisional Commissioner S. Rajalingam, expressed displeasure at the breaking of the madhi on 10 January "without any prior notice or warning," calling it "a complete disregard for the site's history." The Trust and the Holkar Royal Family of Indore "strongly condemned" the lack of communication.

But the Trust explicitly distanced itself from claims of idol desecration. The letter "wholeheartedly supports well-planned and sensitive development of facilities for people".

The Trust's demands are procedural, not adversarial. Investigate the negligence in communication, hold relevant officials accountable, hand over the intact idols to the Trust, and restore them to their rightful place once redevelopment is complete.

The Dom Raja Family: Support for the Project

The Dom Raja family, hereditary custodians of Manikarnika's cremation rites for centuries, also offered unambiguous support for the renovation.

Vishwanath Chaudhary of the Dom Raja family acknowledged that destruction of old structures—including his own house—was emotionally difficult. But his conclusion was pragmatic: "It can't be denied that no redevelopment is possible without removing old structures."

Common People: Let the Work Continue

Pilgrims and priests quoted in reports echoed the sentiment.

Diwakar Shukla, who had travelled from Palamu in Jharkhand with a relative's mortal remains, spoke of the current inadequacy: "Arrangements at the cremation grounds of Kashi should exist as per its stature in Sanatan. Currently, Kashi lacks it, as people coming from different parts of the country to fulfil the wish of their loved ones are struggling hard due to overcrowding."

Veteran art historian Prof Maruti Nandan Tiwari called the breaking of the stone slabs "unfortunate" but cautioned against "creating a hurdle to an important project like rejuvenating the cremation ghat of Kashi."

The Bottom Line

Two incendiary claims drove this controversy: that Devi Ahilyabai Holkar's idol was broken and desecrated, and that the Kumbha Mahadev Temple was demolished. Both are demonstrably false.

The idol is intact and under worship at another temple. The temple stands undamaged, 250 metres from Manikarnika Ghat. The viral images were either old photographs from a different project or misleadingly presented to suggest destruction that never occurred.

What actually happened was a procedural failure—the madhi was demolished without notifying the Holkar Trust, and the stone slabs (not the idols themselves) broke during the work. The Trust's criticism on this count is valid. But the leap from "poor communication" to "Hindu idols desecrated by the government" was a blatant fabrication, amplified and spread through misleading imagery.