The left-liberal ecosystem has a penchant for ‘secularising’ Hindu festivals when they are not busy disparaging them. After the Hindu rights organisations took the initiative to spread awareness about Islamists entering Garba events with malicious intent, several Garba organisers started restricting the entry of non-Hindus into the Garba Pandals.
This, however, has left the Islamist-sympathising lot infuriated. In this vein, leftist propaganda portal Newslaundry has whined about the Hindus not ‘welcoming’ Islamist predators in Garba events to preserve the farcical ‘secular’ fabric of India.
Much like the leftist media ecosystem has been doing with “Love Jihad”, Newslaundry trivialised what it called “Garba Jihad bogey” as a ‘Hindutva’ conspiracy theory. In an article titled After media’s ‘garba jihad’ bogey, Hindi newspaper’s garba event ‘only for Sanatani Hindus’, the propaganda outlet expressed its displeasure over the Garba event organisers barring the entry of non-Hindus. Moreover, it pointed out how media outlets including News24 MP-Chhattisgarh, Patrika and Red FM sponsored a Garba event which stated that only Hindu Sanatani families would be allowed to enter.
The Newslaundry suggested that this is somehow a problem, and Garba events should be open to all regardless of their religion. It further cited some people as saying that their Aadhaar cards and names were asked, and those who did not carry their ID cards were checked for religious lockets, sacred threads etc to confirm their Hindu identity. Amusingly, Newslaundry found a girl ‘allergic’ to vermillion who refused to apply Tilak on her forehead and was forced to apply the same to gain entry.
The leftist propaganda outlet Newslaundry shot its gun off the shoulders of the Garba visitors it quoted to target Patrika for funding the Garba event in Bhopal which barred entry for non-Sanatani people. Patrika, however, succumbed to the gaslighting and its marketing head in Bhopal Amit Trishal said that the publication is pulling out of the event. He went on to call the “Pravesh keval Hindu Sanatani parivar ke liye (entry only for Hindu Sanatani family)” note on the banners and posters of the event ‘discriminatory’.
While left-liberal media calls the “Entry only for Hindu Sanatani family” rule as discriminatory, there have been numerous incidents wherein Hindu women were victimised by Muslim youths who entered Garba Pandals. If Hindus want to celebrate their festivals with their co-religionists only, what is discriminatory about it?
The Newslaundry article quoted a 24-year-old documentary filmmaker saying that it would have been ‘embarrassing’ if their Muslim friends had come along and noticed the “Hindu only” note on the Garba passes. This seems nothing but a way of the propaganda outlet to gaslight Hindus for not being ‘inclusive’ and ‘secular’ enough to let Muslims inside the Garba events. The leftist hypocrisy is amusing.
These same people argue that Hindu processions should not stop outside mosques, pass from ‘Muslim areas’ or play loud religious music there to preserve ‘communal harmony’ but Hindus to lay a red carpet for Muslims to enter even though their religion prohibits them from partaking festivities of non-Muslims, and perhaps molest Hindu women or cause a ruckus.
“Entry only for Sanatani Hindus”: A discriminatory note or the need of the hour?
Garba is a devotional dance performed by the devotees of Maa Durga during Navratri in her honour for liberating the world from the terror of demons and in celebration of the victory of Dharma over Adharma. It is a celebration of the feminine form of the divine. Garba is not a government scheme that every citizen has a right over it. Even to avail of the benefits of government schemes, there is certain eligibility criteria. If any non-Hindu, particularly, the adherents of a faith that clearly directs them not to associate partners with their God, or partake in celebration of the festivals of polytheists like Hindus, want to join Garba celebration, they should revert to Sanatan Dharma, invoke devotion for Maa Durga first.
While Newslaundry and the Islamists deem “Sanatani only” restrictions in Garba events as discriminatory, and dismiss incidents of targeted harassment of Hindu women by Muslims as ‘Garba Jihad Hindutva Conspiracy Theory’, there is ample evidence to suggest that the ‘Jihadi’ threat is real.
On the very same day (7th October), the Newslaundry article in question was published, it was reported that in Madhya Pradesh’s Alirajpur, Muslim youths molested a woman returning from the Garba event.
On the 9th of October, it was reported that a Muslim youth named Feroz attended a garba event using a fake Hindu identity in Ujjain. Feroz posed as Rahul and entered the Garba Pandal with condoms. Yes, you read it right, he was carrying condoms at the Hindu religious event and was caught by the activists of Hindu Jagran Manch.
In the Guna district, it was reported that five Muslim boys entered the Garba Pandal under suspicious circumstances, as told by the police and were detained.
In October last year, it was reported that one Fareed Shah attempted to enter Garba Pandal in Hyderabad’s Begumpet Hockey Stadium by posing as a Hindu person named Ashish to lure some Hindu girl. He was stopped by Bajrang Dal activists.
In October 2022, it was reported that 8 Muslim men were detained by the police in Indore for trying to enter garba venues by concealing their identities. In another incident from the same year, it was reported that a Muslim person was arrested for passing lewd remarks on Hindu women at Garba Pandal in Palsikar colony.
A youth named Madhusudan Modi was attacked with a knife by three Islamists named Shahrukh, Zubair, and Samir at a dandiya event held in Bikaner in Rajasthan on October 1, 2022. These Muslim youths were molesting girls who had come to play Garba.
On October 1st 2022, six Hindu students were attacked by four accused, identified as Rathod Amin Gulab Nabi, Nizami Moin Nurmahammad, Ganchi Amanbhai Firozbhai, and Chauhan Mahamadnuman Mahamadhanif, for objecting to Islamic songs being played during a Garba event at BK Patel Arts & Commerce College of Savli in Vadodara. The four accused attacked the Hindu students with iron belts and stones.
On September 30 2022, some Muslim youths forcefully entered the Garba venue in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The Muslim youths, however, fled as soon as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal activists arrived.
In the same year, seven Muslim youths were arrested by the police from the Garba pandal of Pandharinath in Indore. They were reportedly making videos of Hindu girls.
Last year, OpIndia reported that in Gujarat’s Bharuch district, Muslims of the Ikhar village had threatened he Hindu tribal community not to organise Navratri and said they will pelt stones if the event is held. Why? Because the Muslims claimed tha it is their area.
These are only a few of the numerous such incidents involving Muslims attacking Hindus or attempting to harass Hindu women. While all Muslims may or may not harbour hatred and malice for Hindus and their festivals, the Hindus cannot and should not give a free pass to Islamist predators because some online one-way secularism enthusiast will feel ‘embarrassed’ or a propaganda outlet like Newslaundry will cry ‘secularism khatre mein hai’. It is in the nature of Islamo-leftists to downplay crimes against Hindus, dismiss targeted attacks on them as hoaxes, conspiracy theories and whatnot to make sure that Islamists get a free pass to target Hindus while the Hindus remain oblivious to it and blindly carry the burden of ‘secularism’, ‘inclusivity’, ‘diversity’ and ‘Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb’ etc.
