On November 9-10, Eid Milad-un-Nabi was celebrated in Kashmir’s Hazratbal shrine to observe the birth of Prophet Muhammed. According to a report in The Hindu by Kashmiri journalist Peerzada Ashiq, “All entry points to the mosque, including Habak area on the outskirts of the city and the Rainawari and Sadrabal areas in the old city, were closed for traffic. The security forces started spreading concertina wires on the streets and used mobile bunkers to block several stretches on Saturday as part of an exercise to impose restrictions.” A resident attending the prayers since 1990 told the media outlet, “It is the first time in my living memory that such a thin attendance of worshippers was observed on the auspicious occasion in Kashmir. Only locals living in nearby areas turned up for the night-long prayers…” Similar news emerged from other media outlets, including PTI which said, “Authorities on Sunday sealed all roads leading to the Hazratbal Shrine here as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order in view of the Supreme Court ruling in the Ayodhya case and Eid-Milad-un-Nabi, officials said.” Local reports carried similar accounts of restrictions imposed to prevent large gatherings. However, a section of the media circulated a video to counter the claim of restrictions. Among the firsts was Republic TV’s Aditya Raj Kaul who asserted that thousands had gathered in the occasion. Soon after, the same clip was shared by Ashish Singh of ABP News, journalist Aarti Tikoo Singh and Doordarshan. News agency ANI also asserted that thousands had gathered at the shrine. Thousands prayed at Hazratbal and holy Relic Moi-e-Muqaddas was displayed as per tradition at holy Hazratbal shrine in #Srinagar. Disinformation was spread that prayers were not allowed on 10 November#FakeNews pic.twitter.com/vUD72hqN7m — Doordarshan News (@DDNewsLive) November 12, 2019 Ironically, Times Now broadcast a show based on the video two days later and termed it “breaking news here first.” #Breaking | TIMES NOW accesses video proof of Hazratbal shrine truth. Lutyens lobby who claimed people were not allowed to offer prayers in Hazratbal shrine has been exposed. Details by TIMES NOW’s Pradeep Dutta. Listen in. pic.twitter.com/srDv2KGYp0 — TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) November 12, 2019 It is noteworthy that most media outlets and journalists mentioned above claimed that disinformation was spread that the prayers were not allowed. However, this is untrue. News organisations that carried reports on Eid Milad wrote that prayers were “restricted”, not banned. Take for instance this article in The Tribune which said, “Restrictions around Hazratbal shrine to prevent big congregation on Eid Milad eve.” Quoting a Kashmiri journalist, NDTV’s Nidhi Razdan also used the word “restricted”. However, in a reply to the journalist, Aarti Tikoo Singh wrote, “A section of Indian media ran a disinformation campaign that prayers were not allowed by Indian security forces at the Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar on Eid Milad yesterday.” A section of Indian media ran a disinformation campaign that prayers were not allowed by Indian security forces at the Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar on Eid Milad yesterday. Guess, who is using this fake news the most? Pakistan. Now check this & see for yourself what the truth is. https://t.co/lMuJjqUrZV pic.twitter.com/5q8Z5FJcWS — Aarti Tikoo Singh (@AartiTikoo) November 11, 2019 Alt News spoke with multiple freelance journalists and photojournalists from the Valley who informed that while prayers were indeed offered, the number of devotees was sparse. Photojournalist Sheikh Yamin put the strength of the gathering at around 400-500 people at 2:30 PM, which according to him was the peak time. “The gathering is usually in thousands but very few people came because of the blockade. Most people who turned up hailed from surrounding areas. The security personnel stopped vehicles, people on foot were able to enter,” Yamin added. Yamin shared visuals from the day which show a scattered gathering among security personnel. From 1:03 in the video below, some devotees can be seen offering prayers. If one were to compare publicly available photographs from November 10, 2019, with those of celebrations in Hazratbal in past years, the massive difference in the strength of the gathering is evident. In the collage below, the first image depicts recent celebrations, the second is from 2016; third, 2011 and the fourth, 2014. A freelance journalist who did not wish to be named told Alt News that at 1 PM, a cleric showed the devotees a relic believed to be a hair from the beard of the Prophet Mohammed. “Thousands of people gather for the Zuhr since the event takes place once or twice a year. Very few people had turned up in the morning.