Fact Check: Viral ‘The Hindu’ Archive Clip On Indira Gandhi And Gold Purchase Is Digitally Altered
The archived clip from ‘The Hindu’ newspaper, which is circulating with claims that former PM Indira Gandhi appealed to people not to buy gold, is digitally altered. However, it is true that the Gold (Control) Act was enacted after the Indo-China War to safeguard the country's foreign exchange reserves. The Gold (Control) Act of 1965 and the Gold (Control) Act of 1968 were intended to regulate the use of gold. However, these laws were later repealed in 1990.
- By: Abhishek Parashar
- Published: May 13, 2026 at 11:43 AM
- Updated: May 13, 2026 at 11:54 AM
New Delhi (Vishvas News). Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to citizens to abstain from buying gold for a year. Following this, an archived clip from the English newspaper ‘The Hindu’ is going viral on social media. The clip is being shared claims that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi appealed to citizens not to buy gold in 1967. This news clip is being shared on various social media platforms in a similar context.
Vishvas News investigated and found the viral image to be digitally altered. According to parliamentary records, the government passed the Gold (Control) Act in 1965 to safeguard India’s foreign exchange reserves after the China War. This law, with some amendments, later emerged as the Gold (Control) Act of 1968. It should be noted that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the government’s gold reserves were excluded from the scope of this law. However, this law was repealed in 1990.
What is viral?
Social media user ‘Macro Liquidity by Sunil Reddy’ shared the viral post (archive link) with the caption, “In 1967, Indira Gandhi appealed to Indians: “Don’t buy Gold.” The reason was that India’s foreign exchange position was under stress, imports were becoming difficult, and the currency system needed people to show “national discipline.” But what followed? One of the biggest Gold bull markets in history. From the late 1960s to 1980, Gold exploded higher globally, and in rupee terms the move was even more brutal. This is the real lesson:When governments tell citizens not to buy Gold, they are usually not worried about your jewellery. They are worried about pressure on the currency, pressure on reserves, and pressure on the financial system. Gold doesn’t become important when everything is normal.Gold becomes important when the system starts asking you not to buy it.”
Many users across different social media platforms have shared it with similar claims. This archive has been used in reports by NBT and NDTV.
Investigation
The viral post features an archived clip from ‘The Hindu’, published on June 6, 1967. To verify the authenticity of this page, we searched ‘The Hindu’s’ social media posts for archived posts, and there was a post dated October 1, 2025, which included an archived copy of the October 2, 1969 issue.
Upon scanning the original archived page, it became evident that the viral image is digitally altered. The collage clearly highlights the difference between the original archive and the viral clip.
There are many tools that can create a clip of any newspaper’s e-paper from a previous date.
‘The Hindu’s’ official social media page also denied the clip’s authenticity. It stated, “A digitally altered image is currently circulating on social media claiming to be the front page of The Hindu newspaper dated June 6, 1967. We would like to clarify that this is not an original page from our archives.”
Nisthula Hebbar, Associate and Political Editor of ‘The Hindu’, has shared a picture of the newspaper’s archive page published on June 6, 1967, from her official X handle, whose main news is related to the Arab-Israeli war.
We then examined the context of 1967. According to available documents, the then Finance Minister, Morarji Desai, enacted the Gold Control Act, 1962, to manage the country’s foreign exchange reserves after the China War. According to a Mint article dated November 26, 2012 (written by Nilesh Shah), “Then Finance Minister, Morarji Desai, introduced the Gold Control Act, 1962, which recalled all gold loans given by banks and prohibited forward trading in gold. In 1963, the production of gold jewellery with a purity higher than 14 carats was banned. In 1965, a Gold Bond Scheme was introduced, offering tax exemptions for undisclosed assets. These measures failed to yield the desired results, leading Desai to enact the Gold Control Act, 1968, which prohibited citizens from holding gold in the form of bars and coins.”
On the website Indiacode.nic.in, we found copies of the Gold (Control) Act, 1965, and the Gold (Control) Act, 1968, which confirm this. While the 1965 Act prohibits the manufacture of gold jewellery, the possession and sale of gold, and gold loans, the 1968 Act provides for the appointment of gold control officers. The 1968 Act excludes gold held by the RBI and the government from its purview.
It is noteworthy that Indira was the Prime Minister from January 1966 to March 1977 and from January 1980 to October 1984. After the Indo-China war, the country faced a shortage of foreign exchange reserves, and to deal with this, the Gold (Control) Act was introduced. However, this law was later repealed by the Gold (Control) Repeal Act in 1990.
During our investigation, we found several reports mentioning Indira’s jewellery donation. During the 1962 war, then-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru appealed to the nation to donate gold and money to the defence fund, and Indira Gandhi donated her gold jewellery in response.
We contacted The Hindu’s editor Suresh Nambath, who dismissed it as fake.
‘The Hindu Library’ told Vishvas News, “The digitally altered image circulating on social media as the front page of The Hindu dated June 6, 1967, does not match any authentic page in our archives.”
What is the context?
PM Modi has appealed to people not to buy gold for a year in view of the West Asia crisis (US-Israel and Iran war), due to which a round of allegations and counter-allegations has started.
Rahul Gandhi, targeting PM Modi, said that he always shifts the responsibility to the public to escape accountability himself. In this context, social media users appear divided. Some users are saying that this is not the first time a national leader has appealed to people not to buy gold.
The X user who shared the viral post has over 25,000 followers.
Conclusion: The archived clip from ‘The Hindu’ newspaper, which is circulating with claims that former PM Indira Gandhi appealed to people not to buy gold, is digitally altered. However, it is true that the Gold (Control) Act was enacted after the Indo-China War to safeguard the country’s foreign exchange reserves. The Gold (Control) Act of 1965 and the Gold (Control) Act of 1968 were intended to regulate the use of gold. However, these laws were later repealed in 1990.
- Claim Review : An archive page of 'The Hindu' from 1967 showing Indira Gandhi's appeal not to buy gold.
- Claimed By : X User-@Macrobysunil
- Fact Check : False
- The Hindu Insta Page
- @IndiaHistorypic X Page
- www.indiacode.nic.in 1 2 and 3
- Nistula Hebbar's X Profile
- Report of livemint, Dated 26 Nov 2012
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