Fact Check: PM Modi Did Not Claim Chinese Philosopher Xuanzang Was From His Village; Viral Claim Is Misleading
PM Narendra Modi did not claim that the Chinese philosopher Hieun Tsang (Xuanzang) was from his village. The viral clip is from a recent podcast of PM Narendra Modi in which he mentioned Hieun Tsang’s stay in Vadnagar during his visit to India. Referring to his conversation with the Chinese President, Modi explained that this connection was the reason behind Xi Jinping’s desire to visit Gujarat.
- By: Abhishek Parashar
- Published: Mar 26, 2025 at 10:05 AM
New Delhi (Vishvas News): Recently, Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his first podcast, where they discussed many issues, including the beginning of Modi’s political journey. A video clip from this podcast is being shared with the claim that PM Modi allegedly stated that the Chinese philosopher Xuanzang was from his village. This video is being used to accuse Modi of making a false claim.
Vishvas News investigated and found this claim to be false and politically motivated. During the conversation, PM Narendra Modi mentioned that Xuanzang had stayed in his village, Vadnagar, during his stay in India. He also recounted a conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who congratulated him upon becoming the Prime Minister and expressed his desire to visit Vadnagar, Gujarat. Xi Jinping had noted that Xuanzang spent the longest time in Vadnagar and upon returning to China, resided in his village. At no point did PM Modi claim that Xuanzang was from his village.
What is viral?
Social media user ‘sanjay_educare’ shared the viral video clip with the caption, “The Chinese philosopher is from my village.”
Investigation
The viral video clip is from a recent podcast featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hosted by Nikhil Kamat. The full episode is available on Narendra Modi’s official YouTube channel.
The viral clip is a segment from this podcast. The context becomes clear when you watch the original video at the 6.14-minute mark, where PM Modi discusses his childhood. He says, “…I had read somewhere that the Chinese philosopher Hiuen Tsang had lived in my village…so a film was going to be made on him…so at that time I had written a letter to the embassy or someone here that brother I have read somewhere that you are making a film on Hiuen Tsang…(stopping) so he lived in my village…so mention it somewhere. I had made some effort by doing this…that was many years ago.”
Continuing his discussion on the historical heritage of Vadnagar, he stated, “…When I became the Prime Minister in 2014, naturally the world leaders made courtesy calls. So the President of China…President Xi, his courtesy call came…best wishes and so on…so he himself said that I want to come to India. I said, you are most welcome, you…definitely come. But I want to go to Gujarat. I said that is even better. So he said that I want to go to your village Vadnagar. So I said what’s the matter, you have made a program till here. He said do you know why…so I said I don’t know.”
Xi then responded, “….You (Modi) and I have a special relationship. I said…what? Hieun Tsang, the Chinese philosopher, spent most of his time in your village. But when he came back to China…he stayed in my village. So he said that this is a connection between the two of us.”
Our investigation confirms that Modi only mentioned Xuanzang’s stay in Vadnagar, Mehsana district, Gujarat, during his visit to India, and did not claim that Xuanzang was from his village.
According to the information available on the official website of the Bihar government, the Xuanzang Memorial Hall is located in Bihar and was built in his memory. Xuanzang studied at Nalanda University and later taught there as well.
Xuanzang was a Chinese traveller, scholar, Buddhist monk, and translator. He visited India during the reign of Emperor Harshvardhan between 629 and 645 AD.
Regarding the viral video, we spoke to BJP spokesperson Dr Bijay Sonkar Shastri, who confirmed that the Prime Minister had only mentioned Xuanzang’s stay in Vadnagar while discussing his visit to India.
According to an NDTV report, “Hwensang reached Nalanda by walking through several states of India. Meanwhile, he also went to PM Modi’s village Vadnagar, where he stayed for some time. When he returned to China, he pronounced Vadnagar as O-nan-to-pu-lo, which translates to Anandpur. This is the name of the ancient city of Vadnagar.”
According to the report, “Xuanzang wrote that there are about ten Sangharamas in Vadnagar, which have less than 1,000 monks. They follow the Hinayana sect of Buddhism. These people study according to the Sammati sect. There are many big temples in Vadnagar, people of different sects come there.”
A video uploaded on the official PMO handle on September 17, 2014, shows Prime Minister Modi welcoming Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Hyatt Hotel in Ahmedabad, where he can be seen discussing Hieun Tsang’s visit to India.
The Instagram user who shared the viral video with the misleading claim has over 3000 followers.
Conclusion: PM Narendra Modi did not claim that the Chinese philosopher Hieun Tsang (Xuanzang) was from his village. The viral clip is from a recent podcast of PM Narendra Modi in which he mentioned Hieun Tsang’s stay in Vadnagar during his visit to India. Referring to his conversation with the Chinese President, Modi explained that this connection was the reason behind Xi Jinping’s desire to visit Gujarat.
- Claim Review : PM Modi Claim Chinese Philosopher Xuanzang Was From His Village
- Claimed By : Instagram user 'sanjay_educare'
- Fact Check : False
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