Two Garba performances scheduled for October 17 and 18 in Jaipur were cancelled after members of right-wing groups allegedly threatened to disrupt the events over the participation of Muslim singer Javed Khan.
Khan returned the advance payment, while the organizers called off the shows amid concerns over alleged threats from the Bajrang Dal and Sanatan Suraksha Dal.
Speaking to FoEJ Media, Khan said members of the Bajrang Dal and Sanatan Suraksha Dal threatened to disrupt the events if organizers went ahead with his appearances during the garba event. He said he returned the advance payments to prevent the organizers from facing disruption.
One of the events was scheduled to take place at Vinaya Resort and Retreat on Saturday, October 17. Khan said another appearance was also cancelled after the organizers faced pressure from the groups.
According to Khan, the organizers had initially planned to host him, but the situation changed after members of the Hindutva groups objected to his participation. He said one organizer played him an audio recording of a conversation in which a person purportedly associated with the opposition to his appearance questioned why someone from another religion had been invited.
In the recording, accessed by the FoEJ Media, the speaker told the organizer that Khan’s presence would hurt religious sentiments and urged them to withdraw the invitation.
“Are there not enough people in your own religion? If you’re short of people from your own community, then invite people from another religion,” a person purportedly associated with Sanatan Suraksha Dal said.
Khan said he did not want the organizers to face the consequences of proceeding with the events despite the alleged threats.
“The organizer had invited me and advertised my appearance. However, after members of the Bajrang Dal and Sanatan Suraksha Dal contacted him, he became concerned about what might happen if the program went ahead,” Khan told FoEJ Media.
Khan said he decided not to attend because he did not want the event to be disrupted or the organizer to suffer losses.
“I didn’t want the event to be disrupted,” Khan said.
“I have never divided people on the basis of religion. A few years ago, I organized a Dandiya event myself. My father even had a temple built,” he said.
Khan added that he had visited Vaishno Devi several times and participated in celebrations observed by different communities.
“These people in these groups should think about this: if they do something, they’ll be the ones disrupting the event, not me,” Khan added.
He questioned why his Muslim identity should become a reason to exclude him from a cultural gathering.
“They are saying that non-Hindus should not be allowed to attend Garba events.My question is: Is the government complicit in this? Is the police supporting them. if these activities are not stopped, it would imply that the government is working in collusion with them. If the government is indeed complicit, does it want to create a divide between Hindus and Muslims? he said.
If this is not stopped, the situation will only continue to escalate.” he claimed.
“The organisers had even released a poster [announcing Khan’s appearance]. We warned the organisers that if Javed Khan comes, our workers would reach the venue and oppose his visit and won’t let the programme happen. Thereafter the programme has been cancelled. The garba-dandiya programmes organised during Navratri is about worship of Hindu goddesses. We have put up hoardings near every garba pandal that if any non-Hindu is found entering, the Sanatan Suraksha Dal will take action as we deem fit,” Ravi Gouttam, the founder of Sanatan Suraksha Dal, said as reported by The Wire.
“We condemn how Khan’s visit to the garba pandals had to be cancelled after pressure from these outfits. It is very unfortunate that Khan was reduced to his religious identity and his body work didn’t matter. It is shocking because Jaipur had a very inclusive culture and we had not had that kind of takeover that only a particular community can attend garba celebrations,” said Kavita Srivastava, national president of People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), condemning the incident, as reported by The Wire.
“If Muslim police personnel are assigned festival duty, will they also be stopped from entering these celebrations?” he asked.
Khan’s case is not the only one. As the Garba events have been organized at various places, so has the attack on people on the basis of identity increased.
On October 18, a Muslim youth was allegedly assaulted and removed from a Navratri Garba event organized by BJP corporator Jayprakash Singh in Nalasopara East after he wiped off a tilak applied to his forehead at the venue.
A Muslim student named Sameer Alam on October 16 was physically assaulted by members of the Bajrang Dal on the campus premises in Bhopal, the FoEJ Media has earlier reported.
In yet another case on October 16, VHP workers confronted the man at the Garba venue and subsequently handed him over to the police. Videos of the incident have since circulated widely on social media.
An upscale Navratri event featuring folk singer Aditya Gadhvi witnessed an announcement on October 14 in which the anchor asked Muslims and others described as vidharmis, or people belonging to a different faith, to leave the venue voluntarily.
“The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has come here for the protection of Hindus,” the anchor said and gave a “helpline number” from the stage, as reported by the Indian Express.
On October 13, police detained more than 40 members of the Antarashtriya Hindu Parishad (AHP) and other groups following a confrontation at Rangoli Party Plot in the Vartej area of Bhavnagar. Officers had to physically restrain the protesters, who were allegedly opposing the organisers’ decision to hire Muslim musicians to perform at the dandiya event, the Indian Express reported.
Earlier this September, in Surat, Gujarat, organizers of Raslok Navratri, Harshal Mistry and his brother Mimesh, announced that Muslims would be barred from attending the event. Speaking to the media, Harshal said the organizers had also ensured that no Muslims were part of the musical bands, security staff, or other teams involved in running the event.
“We have ensured that there is no Muslim individual in the musical bands or among the security staff and in other areas where the event is organized. Our teams will be on the ground, and if any Muslim (non-Hindu) person is identified, our teams will take him out of the venue,” he said.
Weeks before the Navratri, Mhow BJP MLA Usha Thakur called for restricting non-Hindus from entering garba pandals in Indore.
Speaking to journalists in Indore on Monday about barring Muslim men from entering Navratri events, Thakur said several outfits had pledged to prohibit entry to garba pandals for those who do not worship idols, The Print reported.
“Throughout the year, during garba, 4.5 lakh girls used to elope during garba. These adult daughters would give birth to one child each the following year, and demographic change was being affected at a rate of 9 lakh per year, which is why such a ban on the entry of vidharmis (non-Hindus) at garba pandals is necessary,” she said, The Print highlighted.
Meanwhile, Rameshwar Sharma, BJP MLA from Bhopal’s Huzur constituency, said on Monday, September 21, that Muslims wishing to attend Garba events during Navratri should bring their sisters and daughters, adding, “Our boys are also ready.”
“Muslims wish to come for Garba? Come! Why do you only want to come for Garba? Even if you wish to come permanently, we are ready. Come and chant Jai Sri Ram, draw tilaks on your foreheads, and protect the ‘gau mata’…will anybody have a problem with that? And why do only boys want to come? Bring you sisters and daughters from home; our boys are also ready!” he said in a video that made rounds on the internet.
Former BJP MP Gopal Shetty imposed conditions on participation in a major Garba event in Mumbai’s Borivali, stating that attendees must wear a tilak and follow Hindu rituals, The Print highlighted.
Notablly, as highlighted by the Indian Express, the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee in 2023, while awarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage tag to the garba had said: “…a means of collective celebration, garba promotes unity in diversity and fosters social equality by bringing together people of all genders, religions and socio-economic backgrounds. Every generation redefines garba through new performing styles, lyrics and dress while keeping the circle of feminine energy/Shakti intact.”
The inscription by UNESCO read, “… Garba fosters social equality by diluting socio-economic, gender and religious structures. It continues to be inclusive of diverse and marginalised communities, thus strengthening social bonds.”
