The celebrations of Navratri have begun all over the country and the events of Dandiya and Garba are being organised with full enthusiasm. Amid this, one such event organized in the Ujjain city of Madhya Pradesh has garnered attention for imposing special conditions on the Garba attendees.
A Garba organiser group in Ujjain has posted posters restricting non-Hindus from attending the Navratri celebrations. The posters have been put up to prevent incidents of love jihad. According to the information, the organizers of the Garba event are verifying Aadhar cards before allowing visitors to the event.
Meanwhile, the administrative authorities have also supported the move. “It is their private function, and they have issued passes for entry to the event. What is the problem with this?” stated Ujjain SP Sachin Sharma.
The organizer, ‘Sankalp Sanskrit Sanstha’, also mandated that every male Garba attendee be ‘welcomed with a tilak’. “The tilak will deter non-Hindus,” Sanstha president Bahadur Singh Rathore was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
According to the reports, Navratri Garba is a very popular celebration in these parts, and it is being conducted for the fifth year in a row on a public ground near Nanakheda on the Indore-Ujjain road. Over 5,000 individuals are believed to have attended the celebrations so far. The organizers are making announcements concerning the entry requirements for the event.
Rathore further added that the organizers are not against any religion but the move has been imposed to ensure the safety of the women. “We are not against any religion, but we want to put an end to love-jihad and restrict entry to those trying to spread animosity. Garba events were used to mislead Hindu girls into marrying men of other religions,” Rathore said.
Earlier, on 7th October, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Gujarat had asked the government to take steps to ensure that no Islamists enter into the religious pandal to lure Hindu women into conversion. VHP joint general secretary Surendra Jain stated that the Hindu religious processions were being increasingly targeted during festivals.
“Garba is an occasion to offer worship to Goddess. Some ‘jihadis’ misuse such occasions. I would like to appeal to all the organizers of garba that pandal-walas (those who construct pandals), catering service people or members of security services should not be Muslim, and they should allow entry to any person only after checking ID card and Aadhaar card,” Jain was quoted as saying.
Navratri has a special significance across the country, especially in the state of Gujarat. The worshippers of Goddess Durga observe a nine-day fast and play Garba during the nights. Many consider Garba as a form of entertainment that is performed for fun, however, Navratri has a special significance in spiritualism and is dedicated to the worship of Goddess Durga.
Garba is but one method of worshipping Goddess Shakti and growing closer to her. The importance of dance has been described in the ancient Vedic traditions as well. There are numerous paths that lead to God and Garba is one of them.
