Modi, the First PM to Travel in an Open Jeep in Kashmir? Historical Records Tell a Different Story

Was Narendra Modi the first Prime Minister to travel in an open jeep in Kashmir? OBC examined archival photographs and historical accounts, uncovering evidence that similar journeys were undertaken by Jawaharlal Nehru and H. D. Deve Gowda years earlier.

On August 5, marking the seventh anniversary of the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Ladakh had entered a ‘new chapter’, highlighting what he described as the region’s transformation in infrastructure, governance and tourism. He credited the abrogation as a pivotal moment in the development of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Subsequently, social media users began circulating photographs from the Prime Minister’s January 13, 2025, visit to Jammu and Kashmir, where he travelled in an open jeep after inaugurating the Z-Morh Tunnel in Sonamarg. The accompanying caption claims that PM Narendra Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to travel in an open jeep in Kashmir.

OBC analysed the viral claim and found it to be factually misleading.

What is viral?

On August 5, the X (formerly Twitter) account @rishibagree shared two photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelling in an open jeep during his visit to Jammu and Kashmir, claiming that he was the ‘first Prime Minister to travel in an open jeep in Kashmir.’

As of August 5, the post had garnered over 97,500 views, 5,400 likes and 541 reposts.

Several users questioned the historical accuracy of the claim.

Disputing the claim, a user remarked, “Nehru did, and PVN Rao did, and without the amount of gear coward has on.” Another user questioned the significance of the claim, stating, “Open jeep in a tunnel! What kind of sarcasm is this?”

We also found that a similar claim was circulated on X in 2025.  On January 13, 2025, the day the Z-Morh Tunnel was inaugurated, Adv. Ashutosh J. Dubey, whose X profile identifies him as the head of the Bharatiya Janata Party Maharashtra SM Legal & Advisory Department, also shared the same image on his official X account and described the moment as ‘historic’, suggesting that Narendra Modi was the first Prime Minister to undertake an open-jeep roadshow in Jammu and Kashmir.

How did we verify?

We analysed the viral claim and found no official or credible media reports that corroborate it.

Jawaharlal Nehru travelled in an open jeep in Srinagar in 1949

Contrary to the claim, a keyword search using relevant phrases led us to a photograph available on Wikimedia Commons showing India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, travelling in an open jeep upon his arrival in Srinagar on September 24, 1949, to attend the annual session of the All Jammu & Kashmir National Conference.

The same photograph is also available in Alamy, an online stock photography agency, among other historically relevant images linked to India.

Additionally, we found that former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda had also travelled in J&K in an open jeep during his tenure.

According to The New Indian Express report published on November 11, 2021, which cites the biography of former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda, Furrows In A Field: The Unexplored Life of H. D. Deve Gowda, recounts that during his second visit to Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 1996, the then PM insisted on travelling in an open jeep from Rajouri airport to the town, despite security concerns raised by the Army and the Special Protection Group (SPG).

The account is also corroborated by remarks made by former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah during the biography’s launch in 2021, where he recalled accompanying H. D. Deve Gowda in an open jeep in Rajouri, near the Line of Control, describing how the Prime Minister chose to proceed despite objections from security officials in an effort to reassure the local population.

Thus, historical evidence confirms that former Prime Ministers, including Jawaharlal Nehru and H. D. Deve Gowda, travelled in open jeeps in Jammu and Kashmir before Narendra Modi, making the viral claim misleading.