Did Javed Akhtar Defend Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's Hijab Incident? Old Video of Bollywood Lyricist Goes Viral With Misleading Claim

Mumbai, December 24: Did Javed Akhtar defend Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and support his hijab incident at a government event in Patna? A video going viral on social media allegedly claims that the Bollywood screenwriter and lyricist has come out in defence of Nitish Kumar following the hijab controversy surrounding the Bihar CM. "Nitish Kumar did the right thing, what's the need to cover one's face? - Javed Akhtar (Lyricist and screenwriter)," the caption of the video read. In the viral clip, Javed Akhtar is seen stating that the practice of women covering their faces is inherently patriarchal.

The video was shared on X (formerly Twitter), alleging that Javed Akhtar seemed to defend Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, thereby endorsing his act of pulling down a woman's hijab and questioning why women need to cover their faces. Notably, the alleged claim started circulating after a video from a government event in Patna showed Bihar CM Nitish Kumar pulling down the hijab of a Muslim woman. While the video is going viral on social media, scroll below to know the complete truth behind the clip. ‘Any Stretch of Imagination I Can’t Accept…’: Javed Akhtar Condemns Bihar CM Nitish Kumar for Pulling Hijab of Newly Appointed AYUSH Doctor, Demands Apology (View Post).

Old Video of Javed Akhtar Falsely Linked to Nitish Kumar's Hijab Controversy

Fact Check Reveals Old Video of Javed Akhtar Was Shared With Misleading Claim

A fact check of the video featuring Javed Akhtar is not related to the December 15 hijab incident involving Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. We ran a reverse image search of key frames from the video on Google, which led us to an extended version of the viral clip shared on the SOA Literary Festival's YouTube channel on November 29. The event had taken place in Odisha's Bhubaneswar. A look at the entire video revealed that Javed Akhtar did not mention Nitish Kumar anywhere during his speech.

Watch the Original Video of Javed Akhar's Address at the SOA Literary Festival 2025

The video also does not show any comment made by the lyricist justifying the act of pulling down a woman's hijab. In fact, we came across a post by Javed Akhtar posted on December 18, in which he condemned Nitish Kumar's actions. In the post, Javed Akhtar also asked the Bihar CM to apologise unconditionally to the woman doctor. The viral clip, which is being shared with a misleading claim online, is from an event which took place even before the controversy occurred. ‘Agar Mai Aapki Dhoti…’: Rakhi Sawant Fumes Over ‘UP CM’ Nitish Kumar’s AYUSH Doctor Hijab Pulling Incident, Demands Apology (Watch Video).

Javed Akhtar Condemns Nitish Kumar for Pulling Hijab of Newly Appointed AYUSH Doctor

Hence, it can be concluded that the viral clip of Javed Akhtar was shared online with a misleading claim. The video showing a woman asking Akhtar a question about a woman's act of covering her face is not related to the Nitish Kumar hijab incident. As clarified above, the alleged post falsely links an unrelated and old video of Javed Akhtar to the hijab controversy by incorrectly portraying him to show that he is supporting the Bihar CM. The old video going viral on social media is from a literary festival before the hijab incident occurred.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 24, 2025 11:44 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).