Dr Sudhir Ruparelia, a Ugandan business magnate, is a rare and blessed soul. For him, heaven and earth are now one, thanks to a fake news website which reported that he had died, aged 61, after a short illness in California Hospital in Trump Land.
Whilst the world prepared to mourn the loss of a great man, Dr Ruparelia could only but smile at this gimmick. In fact when news of his ‘death’ reached him, he was having dinner with his family.
To convince me, Dr Ruparelia’s son Rajiv almost immediately sent me a short video clip via WhatsApp.
According to the hoax article, Dr Ruparelia had been on a business trip at the invitation of Apple Inc. It went on to say that the cause of his sudden demise had not yet been established and that his wife, Jyotsna, had confirmed that his body had been sent for autopsy.
One Ugandan news portal stated: “Such sites deliberately publish hoaxes, propaganda, and disinformation purporting to be real news — often using social media to drive web traffic and amplify their effect. Unlike news satire, fake news websites seek to mislead, rather than entertain, readers for financial, political, or other gain.”
Some Hindus believe that such a hoax is a symbol of increased life expectancy, of at least 100. One Gujarati saint, Das Amar, wrote: “Jene Ram tana rakhwala, ene shu kare jam kala”, which translates to “For he who is protected by the Almighty, not even ‘Yam’ the God of Death can touch him.”
I first met Dr Ruparelia in July 2013. Even now I am still amazed at his larger than life character, humbleness, modesty and his patriotism towards his native, the Pearl of Africa. We salute you Sudhir-bhai, may God rest your soul in peace in heaven and on earth.
