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  • 2022-06-29 (xsd:date)
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  • Girl protesting pollution at Taj Mahal is an Indian environmental activist, not a 'foreign tourist' (en)
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  • An image of a girl holding a sign about plastic pollution around India's famous Taj Mahal has been shared more than a thousand times in social media posts that claim she is a foreign tourist criticising the Uttar Pradesh government about the contamination. The photo in fact shows 10-year-old Indian environmental activist Licypriya Kangujam, who told AFP she is a proud Indian. The image that appears to show a girl holding a placard that reads: Behind the beauty of Taj Mahal is plastic pollution while standing in front of the iconic mausoleum, was shared on Twitter here on June 22, 2022. The post from Manish Jagan Agrawal , leader of Samajwadi Party , an Indian opposition party, has been retweeted more than 1,700 times. Its Hindi-language caption translates in part as: Foreign tourists are also forced to hold up a mirror to the BJP-ruled Yogi government. Yamuna River is full of filth under the BJP government, this filth is a bad stain on the beauty of the Taj Mahal. It is very shameful that a foreign tourist is criticising the government, this image of India and UP has been created by the BJP government. Screenshot of the misleading post, taken on June 29, 2022 The famed Taj Mahal is located along the Yamuna River in Agra district , in India's Uttar Pradesh (UP) state -- where the local government is currently led by firebrand monk Yogi Adityanath of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The photo was shared with a similar claim on Facebook here and here ; and on Twitter here and here . But the claim is false. The girl in the photo is not a foreigner -- she is in fact a young environmental activist from India. 'Proud Indian' A reverse image search found the photo was originally posted to Twitter on June 21, 2022, by 10-year-old environmental activist Licypriya Kangujam . You might be witnessing this scene when you visit the Taj Mahal. You may say it's very polluted but your 1 piece of polythene bag, one simple plastics water bottle led this situation when millions of people visit every year, she tweeted. Behind the beauty of Taj Mahal! Thanks humans. You might be witnessing this scene when you visit the Taj Mahal. You may say it’s very polluted but your 1 piece of polythene bag, one simple plastics water bottle led this situation when millions of people visit every year. pic.twitter.com/KriVT1ewvk — Licypriya Kangujam (@LicypriyaK) June 21, 2022 Originally from the northeastern Manipur state, Kangujam stages protests in front of Parliament in New Delhi and at other Indian cities to demand more government action on climate change. Some people are wrongly sharing my picture and making misleading claims with it, but let me tell them that I am a proud Indian, Kangujam told AFP on June 27, 2022. I visited the Taj Mahal on June 20. I want to send a strong, poignant message about environmental degradation and resilience to the whole world, especially about plastic pollution, she added. She also responded to the false claim on June 23, 2022, writing on Twitter: Hello Sir, I'm a proud Indian. I'm not a foreigner. Following her tweet, the local municipal authorities fined the sanitation company responsible for the area around the Taj Mahal for failing to keep it clean, local media outlet India Today reported . Kangujam can also be seen in this AFP photo from October 23, 2020, protesting air pollution in New Delhi in front of the Indian Parliament. Child environmental activist Licypriya Kangujam, 9, holds a banner in front of the Indian Parliament in New Delhi on October 23, 2020, to protest against the inaction of the government to fight the capital's air pollution. ( AFP / Prakash Singh) Other images of the young activist can also be seen in AFP's archives here . (en)
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