With Navratri just weeks away, a political storm has broken out in Maharashtra over next month's Garba and Dandiya celebrations. The Vishva Hindu Parishad has decided to keep members of the Muslim community out of these events across the state, and has sent organisers a set of instructions to enforce that.
Aadhaar checks and a tilak before you can walk in
The organisation has asked event committees to use two specific checks to confirm a participant's Hindu identity before letting them into the Garba venue, first by asking to see an Aadhaar card, and second by applying a tilak on the forehead. The idea, according to the VHP, is that these two steps will make a person's community identity clear on the spot, and on that basis, members of the Muslim community can be kept out. This is part of a broader set of guidelines the organisation has circulated to organisers. VHP spokesperson and joint secretary Shriraj Nair confirmed the move, saying the organisation had deliberately chosen this route to ensure Muslim community members cannot take part in Garba and Dandiya events.
Opposition hits back, invokes the Constitution
The decision has drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut took a direct dig at the VHP, suggesting it should listen again to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's recent speech in New York, effectively questioning whether the VHP disagrees with its own parent body's remarks. Congress MLA Amin Patel approached the issue from a legal angle, arguing that keeping any community away from religious festivities runs against the spirit of the Constitution. Patel also asked what law permits screening a citizen's religious identity to bar them from a public event. With these statements, the political temperature around Garba and Dandiya in Maharashtra has risen sharply even before Navratri begins.
Now Kolkata's Durga Puja gets its own set of instructions
It isn't just Maharashtra, a similar debate around the VHP's involvement has surfaced in West Bengal, this time linked to Durga Puja. At an event held in Kolkata on August 26, people associated with the VHP gave puja organisers specific suggestions on ritual traditions, the form of the idol, participation in the event, and the food served in pandals. Swami Nirgunanand, secretary of the Sanatan Sanskriti Sansad, who was present at the event, said Durga Puja is fundamentally a Hindu festival, and that the responsibility for running it should rest with the Hindu community. He spoke of prioritising Sanatani customs and traditional religious practices inside pandals, and of avoiding non-vegetarian food there to preserve the sanctity of the puja space. He did clarify that people of other faiths are welcome to visit pandals to watch the celebrations, but said the responsibility for organising the event and conducting its religious rites should stay with the Hindu community.
A UNESCO heritage tag and a question of identity
Reactions to the VHP's suggestions have been divided on social media. Critics argue that Bengal's Durga Puja has, over several decades, grown well beyond a religious ritual into a wide-ranging social and cultural celebration, making such restrictions hard to justify. It is worth noting that in December 2021, Kolkata's Durga Puja was added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list, with UNESCO describing it as a rare blend of religion, art, craftsmanship and community participation. The idols shaped by Kumartuli's artisans, the elaborate pandals that come up across the city, the beat of the dhak, and the presence of people from every background are what push Durga Puja well past being just a religious event. The VHP's fresh guidelines have now raised a pointed question, should Bengal's Durga Puja be confined to a strictly religious framework, or should it keep the open, community-driven, cultural character that earned it recognition on the world stage.
