Garba entry pass: First gaumutra, now Varaha?

A local right-wing Hindu organisation in Bhopal on Tuesday, 1 October, demanded that garba organisers should allow entry to only those who worship Varaha, the third avatar of Vishnu, so as to keep away members of 'other communities'.

The Varaha avatar is depicted as an Indian boar in Hindu mythology.

Earlier, a BJP leader in Madhya Pradesh had demanded that sipping cow urine should be mandatory for those wanting to take part in garba dances during the Navratri festival that begins from 3 October.

Chandrashekhar Tiwari, who heads the Sanskriti Bachao Manch in Bhopal, said on Tuesday that Garba organisers should allow a person to enter the pandal only after he worships Varaha.

A picture of Varaha should be placed at the entry of pandals, he said.

Further, panchgavya, which comprises cow's urine, cowdung, milk, curd and ghee, should be given to every participant, Tiwari said, adding that these conditions will prevent the entry of the members of other communities (read: Muslims) who consider the Varaha avatar unholy.

Only those who believe in the sanatan dharma would be willing to have panch-gavya, he said.

Earlier, Indore district BJP president Chintu Verma had suggested that garba organisers allow entry to only those who sip gaumutra, or cow urine.

Amid the row over his gaumutra "sip" remarks, BJP functionary Chintu Verma on Tuesday dubbed them a personal view, saying he never meant to stop anybody from visiting garba pandals through any pre-condition.

A controversy erupted after Verma, who heads the Indore BJP district unit, had requested organisers to make people do aachman with cow urine before letting them in the garba pandals during the Navratri festival, arguing that a Hindu can never refuse this ritual.

The opposition Congress had targeted the BJP over Verma's remarks, terming them as a new ploy for playing polarisation politics.

"I had expressed my personal views with great sanctity, but many people and Congress turned them into a controversy, which shouldn't have happened," Verma told reporters.

Verma had said while the Aadhaar card can be "edited", a Hindu person will never refuse to do the cow urine aachaman ritual before entering garba pandals.

On Tuesday, Verma said his personal views didn't mean that there should be a mandatory system of aachaman at garba pandals or that a person should be barred from entering these pandals on this basis.

"Everyone is entitled to his/her religious beliefs. India is a country where all religions are equally respected," Verma added.