No Muslims Allowed in Garba? VHP Issues Strict Guidelines for Maharashtra Events
The group urged organisers to check Aadhaar cards and apply tilak as opposition leaders criticized the move as discriminatory.
- On Sunday, The Vishva Hindu Parishad announced a ban on Muslims participating in Garba and Dandiya events across Maharashtra during the upcoming Navratri festival. Organisers must verify identities using Aadhaar cards and apply 'tilak' on attendees' foreheads.
- VHP spokesperson Shriraj Nair stated the group aims to prevent Muslim participation because the festival centers on worshipping the Goddess. Hindutva groups also claim mandatory identity checks help prevent so-called 'love jihad,' a conspiracy theory involving religious conversion.
- Garba, a Gujarati folk dance symbolizing the Goddess Durga, is performed during Navratri starting October 11. The VHP is part of a Hindutva coalition led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parent organization of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
- Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut criticized the move, arguing Muslims contributed to India's freedom struggle and cultural development. Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson Clyde Crasto warned the restrictions are bound to disturb peace.
- Raut urged RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to address the contradiction between his stated calls for unity and the VHP's exclusionary behavior. The Union home ministry previously informed Parliament that Indian law provides no legal definition for 'love jihad.
12 Articles
12 Articles
No Muslims allowed in Garba? VHP issues strict guidelines for Maharashtra events
The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) has announced that Muslims will not be allowed to participate in Garba and Dandiya events during the upcoming Navratri festival in Maharashtra. The organisation has also urged event organisers to verify the identities of participants, with guidelines reportedly including checking Aadhaar cards and applying a tilak on the forehead at entry.
Why is Maharashtra govt silent on VHP's garba diktat? NCP (SP)
Mumbai: The Nationalist Congress Party- Sharad Pawar (NCP -SP) on Sunday, September 6, slammed the Vishva Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) call to bar Muslims from participating in Garba events during Navratri, terming it “unconstitutional”, and questioned the BJP-led Maharashtra government’s silence on the issue. The VHP has announced that Muslims would not be allowed entry to … Get the latest updates in Hyderabad City News, Technology, Entertainment, Sp…
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