Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Indonesia from July 6 to 8, 2026. Against this backdrop, a video of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s speech went viral on social media. Sharing the video, users claimed that in the welcome speech, President Parbowo Subianto took Jawaharlal Nehru’s name instead of Narendra Modi. Sharing the video, a user wrote, “INDONESIA PRESIDENT WELCOMES Jawaharlal Nehru instead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The unexpected mix-up quickly sparked a flood of memes and funny reactions across social media, with users joking that history made a surprise comeback. Whether it was a design error or a misunderstanding, the clip has become a trending talking point online.”
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However, upon investigation, we found that the claim was misleading. Here’s the fact check.
Fact Check
We started our investigation by conducting a relevant keyword search. This led us to a video live-streamed on the official YouTube channel of ANI on July 7, 2026. The video shows the joint press meet of the Indonesian president Parbowo Subianto and the Indian PM Narendra Modi in Jakarta, Indonesia. We noticed that the Indonesian president and PM were in the same attire as in the viral video.
In this video, the Indonesian president starts his speech in the Indonesian language, saying, “Yang Mulia Perdana Menteri Narendra Modi, Perdana Menteri Republik India;
Para Menteri dan anggota Delegasi kedua pemerintahan. (His Excellency Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of the Republic of India;
Ministers and members of the Delegations of both governments.”
From the timestamp 3:23, the viral video can be seen. Here the Indonesian president says, “Sebelum ini, tanda kehormatan yang sama juga pernah dianugerahkan kepada Perdana Menteri India pertama, Jawaharlal Nehru, juga atas penghargaan dan peran besar beliau dalam memperkuat hubungan Indonesia-India dan kontribusinya sebagai salah satu pelopor dan penggagas gerakan nonblok (Previously, the same honor was also awarded to India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, also for his appreciation and significant role in strengthening Indonesia-India relations and his contribution as one of the pioneers and initiators of the non-aligned movement).
We found the transcript of the joint press meet. The translation of the transcript reads, “President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto;
His Excellency Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of the Republic of India;
Ministers and members of the Delegations of both governments.
First of all, I would like to once again welcome His Excellency Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Jakarta. It is a great honour for me as President of the Republic of Indonesia to welcome Your Excellency back to Indonesia, a country that has long been a close friend of the Indian nation. We share a long-standing cultural and historical background. Therefore, this visit, once again, demonstrates how much we want to continue to nurture that friendship and cooperation.
Today, as President of the Republic of Indonesia, I would like to express my gratitude to His Excellency Prime Minister Narendra Modi for accepting the highest honour of the Republic of Indonesia, the Adipurna Star of the Republic of Indonesia. We are grateful that Prime Minister Modi has accepted this award. This award is in recognition of his leadership and contribution in strengthening Indonesia-India relations to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership, as well as his continuous efforts to enhance cooperation between Indonesia and India, and his support for various programs and projects that contribute to Indonesia’s development.
Previously, the same honour was also awarded to India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, also for his appreciation and significant role in strengthening Indonesia-India relations and his contribution as one of the pioneers and initiators of the non-aligned movement…”
From the translation of the Indonesian president’s speech, we learned that PM Narendra Modi has been awarded the highest honour of the Republic of Indonesia, Bintang Adipurna of the Republic of Indonesia. In this context, the Indonesian president mentioned that the same honour was awarded to India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
Conclusion
From our investigation, we can say that the claim is misleading. The Indonesian president didn’t mix up Narendra Modi’s name with Jawaharlal Nehru. He said that the Bintang Adipurna of the Republic of Indonesia award that was given to Narendra Modi was previously given to Jawaharlal Nehru.
Title: Indonesian President Took Nehru’s Name Instead Of Modi? Here’s The Truth.
Fact Check By: Debanjana Baishya
Result: Misleading
