Fact Check: Javed Akhtar Did Not Support Nitish Kumar In The Hijab Controversy; Viral Video Is Misleading

Fact Check: During a programme in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was seen removing the hijab of a Muslim woman on stage, triggering widespread outrage both offline and on social media. Amid the backlash, a video of renowned lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar has gone viral on social media, claiming that Javed Akhtar supported Nitish Kumar in the hijab row. In the video, Javed is seen expressing his views on covering one's face.

Vishvas News' investigation found this claim to be misleading. The viral video does not support Nitish, nor does it justify the incident. The video, dated November 29, 2025, is from an event where Akhtar was responding to a question about societal attitudes towards face coverings. In fact, regarding the hijab controversy involving Nitish, Akhtar has said that the Chief Minister should apologise.

What is the viral post?

Facebook user Ravindra Bharati (Archived version) shared the viral video on December 18, 2025, with the caption: "Whatever Nitish Kumar did was right. What is the need to cover the face? -- Javed Akhtar (lyricist and screenwriter)."

Investigation

We started our investigation by carefully listening to the viral video, in which a woman asks Akhtar how covering oneself makes a woman weak. In response, Akhtar says, (Translation)

"Why should one be ashamed of one's face? I agree that very revealing clothes, whether worn by men or women, do not look decent. If a man comes to an office or college wearing shorts and a sleeveless T-shirt, that's not appropriate. One should dress decently, and the same applies to women. However, why should a woman hide her face? What is there in a woman's face that is objectionable? Why? What is the reason? This is a form of pressure. She has been brainwashed, even if she says she is doing it by choice. She knows that some people will praise her for it. If you leave her free, why would anyone cover their face? Does a person hate their own face? Why?"

For further investigation, we conducted a Google Lens search using key frames from the viral video. This led us to the full video uploaded on the SOA Literary Festival's YouTube channel on November 29, 2025, featuring the inauguration ceremony. At around the 45-second mark, the woman's question and Akhtar's response on covering the face can be clearly heard.

Next, we checked whether Akhtar had made any statement specifically on Nitish's hijab controversy. Our search led us to a post shared on Akhtar's official X (formerly Twitter) handle on December 18, 2025. In this post, he stated that while he is against the traditional practice of purdah/hijab, that does not mean he supports Nitish Kumar's behaviour. He further said that Nitish Kumar should apologise to the woman.

Every one who knows me even in the most cursory manner knows how much I am against the traditional concept of Parda but it doesn’t mean that by any stretch of imagination I can accept what Mr Nitish Kumar has done to a Muslim lady doctor . I condemn it in very strong words . Mr…

— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) December 18, 2025

According to a report by The Indian Express, on 15 December 2025, "During a government programme in Patna for the distribution of appointment letters, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar removed the hijab of a Muslim woman doctor present on stage. The incident was captured on camera, following which strong reactions were seen from political parties, social organisations, and the general public. Many described the act as insensitive to the woman’s privacy and religious freedom."

For further confirmation, Vishvas News contacted Smita Srivastava, a senior journalist at Dainik Jagran who covers Bollywood. She confirmed that the viral video of Javed Akhtar predates the controversy and that Akhtar had also shared a post on X criticising the incident.

We then conducted a social media scan of the Facebook user 'Ravindra Bharati', who shared the misleading post and found that the user has over 4500 followers.

Conclusion: Vishvas News' investigation clearly establishes that the claim made in the viral post is false. Javed Akhtar's video and statement do not support Nitish Kumar, nor do they justify the incident. The video is from November 29, when Akhtar expressed his views on the social mindset for covering their face in response to a question at an event. Regarding Nitish's hijab controversy, Akhtar has explicitly stated that the Chief Minister should apologise.