Indore:
Weeks after a BJP legislator in Madhya Pradesh, Usha Thakur, urged Garba festival organisers to stop Muslim men from entering the venues, the party's state unit has clarified its stand.
"Party workers were not against members of any community but proper checking of identity proofs of those entering the venue is a must from the security point of view. As many lumpen elements enter garba venues who create nuisance," BJP state President Nandkumar Singh Chauhan told reporters.
The clarification by the ruling party, which had distanced itself from its lawmaker's comments, has come as a relief to the Garba organisers of Indore. They say stopping people from a community from entering Garba pandals would have been a logistical nightmare.
Usha Thakur had justified her demand for screening visitors citing "love jihad", the name given by rightwing groups to what they believe is an Islamist strategy to get close to and convert Hindu women. Though the central BJP has distanced itself from the campaign, its party leaders in states like Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have been more vocal.
There are over a hundred big and small Garba Pandals during the Navratras and most of them issue cards to the Garba enthusiasts who participate in the dance. Everyone who wants to attend is allowed in only with a pass.
Garba celebrations started in Indore in the 1950s with some 20 Gujarati families and have since grown with every neighborhood organizing its own Garba dance. An organizer says all religions have been actively involved in the celebrations for years.
Jeetendra Soni, a Garba organizer told NDTV," The initial stand of Usha Thakur was wrong. Banning a particular community would have been wrong."
47-year-old Rehman, a professional singer from Gujarat, has been singing at Garba celebrations across India for the last 25 years. This is the first time that he is performing in Indore and he is glad that the controversy surrounding Garba in Indore has died down.
"I would say this issue was politicized, nothing else," Rehman says.