'Love jihadists stay away’: Gujarat right-wing adds communal colour to garba

Communal tension marked the onset of Navratri, a nine-day festival in Gujarat, when the faces of Muslim artists performing at various functions were painted black on the hoardings by miscreants on October 15. However, no complaint has been filed about the incident so far.

Notably, a week back, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) demanded that the Gujarat government should ensure that “love jihadis” do not enter garba pandals during the upcoming Navratri festival. They also asked garba organisers to make sure that the service providers at the events are not be from the Muslim community.

“Garba is meant to offer worship to a goddess. Some jihadis take advantage of such occasions. I would like to appeal to all the garba organisers that pandalwallas (those who put up pandals), caterers or security staff should not be from the Muslim community. The organisers should ensure that they allow entry to any person only after checking a valid ID card,” said VHP joint general secretary Surendra Jain.

“We have to take a stand as Hindu religious processions are being increasingly targeted. It is the state government’s responsibility to ensure that nobody tries to turn the garba event into a target for love jihad. If the government doesn’t step in, we will stop them. However, there is a possibility of unrest. The government should ensure that the law and order is maintained and love jihadis don’t even get close to the garba venues,” added Jain. He claimed that the state government passed an anti-love jihad Act (Gujarat Freedom of Religious Act, 2021) due to VHP’s efforts, but it was not being enforced properly.

However, the Gujarat police are yet to react to the demand made by the right-wing outfits.

Scanning venues

This is not the first time that the right-wing outfits have demanded to keep Muslims away from garba venues.

Last year, Bajrang Dal members had thrashed Muslim men while they were trying to enter a garba venue in Ahmedabad. Videos of the incident were widely circulated on social media where some youths were being questioned about their religious identity by Bajrang Dal members. One of the videos shows a person being stripped, punched, and kicked by several men clad in saffron scarves in the middle of a busy road. The person, identified as Salman Shaikh, was seen pleading in the video to let him go.

The Ahmedabad police had told the media that they were verifying the authenticity of the video even as VHP and Bajrang Dal office-bearers took responsibility for the incident. No arrest was eventually made in the matter, as there were no complainants.

Gujarat VHP spokesperson Hitendrasinh Rajput said, “We were indeed scanning garba venues randomly to prevent people from other religions from joining Navratri celebrations. The incident occurred at a garba venue at Sindhu Bhavan road in Ahmedabad which was one of the locations where we were checking identities of revellers to stop non-Hindus from entering the venues.”

“We had earlier warned that people from other religions should not be seen at any garba venue. However, when four youths were spotted there, our volunteers drove them out,” he added.

Right-wing effect

“Over the years, garba transitioned from a primarily religious ritual to a social and cultural celebration. People started performing it during other festivities as well. During Navratri, it became a way to come together, celebrate, and enjoy the festive atmosphere. The festival has been synonymous with singers irrespective of their religious identity for years. However, for the past few years, especially since 2015, scores of right-wing outfits have mushroomed in Gujarat. These organisations have become the self-appointed guardians of Hinduism and are being allowed to perform the role of judge, jury and executioner,” said Ganshyam Shah, a Gujarat-based political analyst and writer.

Garba is a Gujarati folk dance performed during the nine-day Navratri festival that is being celebrated from October 15 to 23 this year. For the last several centuries, it has been performed during the Navratri festival.

The roots of Navratri and the traditional dance form of garba trace back to ancient times. The word ‘garba’ is derived from ‘garbhadeep’ meaning a lamp inside a perforated earthen pot that is lighted to mark the beginning of Navratri, a nine-day festival. Garba, originally a devotional dance, was performed to worship the female deity Shakti (Durga) while celebrating fertility and the harvest season.

However, like any cultural aspect, the celebration has undergone a sea change over the years, making the nine-day festival a cosmopolitan festive event involving all sections of society irrespective of religious identity.