Fact Check: No, Ram Jethmalani did not pen this viral poem
India Today Anti-Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the poem has not been penned by Ram Jethmalani but by Rashmi Trivedi.
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India Today Fact Check
The poem has been written by author Rashmi Trivedi
A poem titled 'My Dying Conscience' has been widely shared by social media users attributing it to eminent lawyer and writer Ram Jethmalani who passed away on Sunday. The fairly long poem has been circulated with his photographs as well.
Facebook user Ram Ray uploaded the poem stating, "A lovely poem by Ram Jethmalani, who died at 95."
Many Facebook and Twitter users have posted the same claim. The archived version of Ram Ray's post can be seen here.
THE TRUTH
India Today Anti-Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the poem has not been penned by Ram Jethmalani but by Rashmi Trivedi.
AFWA searched the internet for the first few lines of the poem and this led us to the Siasat.com website which showed that the poem had been penned by writer Rashmi Trivedi.
AFWA looked for social media accounts of the writer and found that Rashmi Trivedi's official Facebook page had this poem uploaded on December 2, 2017.
In the comment section, Trivedi has thanked people for appreciating the poem and has even said, "I have come across many who blatantly copy and forward under their name."
Therefore, it does seem like it was Trivedi who wrote the poem. AFWA has written to her for a response and the story will be updated once Trivedi reverts.
AFWA spoke to Delhi based writer Rashmi Trivedi who said, "This poem is written by me. It is not for the first time that it has become viral with some other authors name. In 2017 as well, some people had forwarded it on WhatsApp with different names." Trivedi who has written three books until now will soon be releasing the fourth one.
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