Viral video of Indian army official criticising tri-military exercises as optics stunt for Bihar elections

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted an AI deepfake detection analysis to assess the authenticity of the video and performed a keyword and reverse image search to identify the original source.

Multiple people on social media platform X shared a video on October 31, 2025, claiming to show India’s Southwestern Army Commander, Lt Gen Manjinder Singh, criticising recent military exercises as a political move to boost the image for the Bihar elections. However, the video is dubbed over.

India kicked off large-scale combined military exercises named ‘Trishul 2025’ near its western border on October 30 amid heightened regional tensions. The war games, involving armoured divisions, fighter aircraft and advanced drone systems, are being held across Rajasthan and Punjab to test rapid deployment capabilities. Indian defence officials have described the drills as routine preparedness measures. Meanwhile, upcoming elections are scheduled in Bihar, India, for the state’s legislative assembly from November 6-11, 2025.

HOW IT STARTED

On Oct 31, an X account, that appears to be anti-Indian based upon its previous posts and is known for repeatedly sharing AI-altered videos, posted a clip with the following caption: “Breaking news: Bikaner, Rajasthan | South Western Army Commander Lt Gen Manjinder Singh says, ‘We all know these so called threshold exercises are being pushed for political optics to boost the image of incumbent government before Bihar elections but still we will give our best because we are professional soldiers, not saffron mobs.’”

The post gained over 38,100 views.

The transcript of the video is provided below:

“Soldiers, we all know these so-called threshold exercises are being pushed for political optics to boost image for the Bihar elections. But remember, we serve India, not any party. Our duty is to defend the nation, not to become props in political theatre.

They may try to saffronise our image, but the Indian army belongs only to the republic, not to Modi, not to any ideology. We will perform our duties with professionalism, go to these exercises with discipline, and show the world that the Indian army stands for India, not for politics. Jai Hind.”

The same video with similar claims was shared by multiple pro-Pakistani accounts on X, as can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, colelctively gaining 35,000 views.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest in the purported political statement attributed to a senior Indian military officer amid regional tensions.

Analysing the video using forensic tool Hive Moderation to determine the authenticity of the video shows it detected 99.8 per cent potential AI manipulation.

A reverse-image search conducted to trace the original footage yielded an X video uploaded on October 30, 2025, by Indian news outlet IANS with the following caption: “Bikaner, Rajasthan: Sapta Shakti Command Manjinder Singh says, ‘The Indian army is following the political direction of new normal, under which, any terror act in the country will be considered as act of war. And the military has to prepare for any such activities … A lot of technologies and capabilities have been introduced for this… Our focus is on maximum night training, hence we are carrying out 70 per cent of the training at night and 30pc of it during the day.”

In the video, Singh delivered an address during a press conference after witnessing an exercise codenamed “Sentinel Strike” at the Mahajan Field Firing Range (Thar Desert). At no point did he discuss Indian domestic politics or make any remarks about the politicisation of the Trishul exercises.

The briefing was covered by multiple Indian media outlets such as WION news and The Economic Times, but did not mention any criticism of the Indian army’s alleged politicisation.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral video shows Indian Southwestern Army Commander Lt Gen Manjinder Singh criticising the recent Trishul exercises as political optics to boost the image for the Bihar elections is false.

The clip is doctored and has been dubbed over through AI-generated audio.

Evidence and References

Oct 30, 2025, IANS X post:
https://x.com/ians_india/status/1983965349180797047

Oct 30, 2025, WION News report:
https://www.wionews.com/india-news/in-india-s-new-normal-any-terror-act-will-be-treated-as-act-of-war-lt-gen-manjinder-singh-1761911328962

Oct 30, 2025, The Economic Times news report:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/armys-south-western-command-conducts-integrated-fire-and-manoeuvre-exercise/articleshow/124963057.cms?utm_source=chatgpt.com&from=mdr