Fact-Check Alert! Mahatma Gandhi was once a Sergeant Major in the British Army?

A picture is going viral on social media, and folks are claiming that Mahatma Gandhi, yes, the Father of our Nation, was once in the British Army! And guess what? They're saying he even got two medals for his "outstanding" service!

Yogi Vishalananda, a Brahma Energy Pranayoga specialist (that's quite a title!), tweeted, “Did you know? Mahatma Gandhi was once a Sergeant Major in the British Army and had also received two medals for his outstanding work in the British Army.” Alongside this bold statement was a group photo, with a young Gandhi ji peeking from the back, highlighted like a school kid trying to be noticed in the class photo.

Not to be outdone, a user named Digvijay Mishra hopped on the bandwagon, posting the same picture on Facebook with the caption, “Is this the truth…you know Mahatma Gandhi was once a Sergeant Major in the British Army and he also got two medals for his brilliant work in the British Army, but yes, Congressman’s eyes Savarkar is a traitor in me.” Wow, someone needs to check their history notes!

Fact Check Time! 🔍

We decided to don our detective hats and did a reverse image search on the internet. Lo and behold, we found this picture on the Alamy website. This photo is actually about “Mahatma Gandhi standing in the sixth row from the left with the Secretary of the Passive Resisters Soccer Club, Johannesburg, South Africa, 1913, Miss Sonia Schlemiel.”

But wait, there’s more! This very same picture popped up in an article on a reputed media house in June 2010, titled “When Bapu kicked the ball.” The article talked about Gandhiji’s love for sports during his student days.

This fact-checking escapade proves that the claim of Gandhi being a Sergeant Major in the British Army is as contextless and misleading as a penguin in a desert!

Remember folks, not everything on the internet is true! Stay sharp and always fact-check!