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Hindutva body tells temple devotees how to dress
The Maharashtra Mandir Mahasangh is enforcing a dress code on devotees across 300 temples in the Indian state. The decree calls for fully covered clothing and bans ripped jeans, shorts and crop tops worn by all genders. The group?s aim is to free the administration of Maharashtra?s temples from government control. The move has been criticized by Nationalist Congress Party leader Vidya Chavan as an attempt to re-instate orthodox Hindutva from Manusmruti and divert attention from real issues.
Mumbai In its first meeting in Jalgaon a little over three months ago, the Maharashtra Mandir Mahasangh – an apex body of several temple managements in the state – had declared that a strict dress code would be enforced on devotees across 300 temples in the state. It is now being rolled out in a staggered fashion with many managements of temples getting notices to implement the mandate.
The decree calls upon devotees to turn up fully covered and has put a ban on ripped jeans, shorts and crop tops worn by all genders. The Magasangh’s “mission” is curious as most people visiting temples are known to turn out conservatively anyway. There is in fact no data of any untoward incident occurring at a place of worship based on a devotee’s manner of clothing.
Its sudden spurt of activity is reminiscent of a series of rallies conducted across the state a few months ago by the Sakal Hindu Samaj, a federation of Hindutva outfits, and setting up an inter-faith family coordination committee to prevent cases of “love-jihad” in the state, despite there being no such reported cases.
On Tuesday, the gram panchayat of Saptashrungi Gad, in Nashik district, asked the management of Saptashrungi Devi Temple, one of the most popular shrines in Maharashtra, to enforce the dress code for visitors. Alongside, in a meeting held in Amravati, Sunil Ghanwat, coordinator of the Maharsangh, announced that the same will be enforced on eight temples across Amravati district, emphasising that in two months it will cover 25 temples in the district.
On May 26, four temples in Nagpur imposed the dress code.
Sunil Ghanwat, who is also the convenor of Hindu Jan Jagruti Samiti, one of the outfits that played a crucial role in organising the morcha against “love jihad” in March, said, “We have no problem with anyone, including girls and women, wearing T-shirts and jeans. But we are opposing short T-shirts and shorts which are skimpy and revealing.” He drew parallels with “sattvik” dress codes existing in the Tirupati Balaji Temple, in Andhra Pradesh, the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple, in Kerala, as also many churches in Goa such as the Basilica of Born Jesus and Se Cathedral.
He added that the body’s aim is to free the administration of Maharashtra’s temples from government control. “We have submitted our demands to the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who has assured us a meeting in the near future to discuss this,” he said.
Reacting to this move, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Vidya Chavan held that in the guise of a dress code, it was an attempt of the present political dispensation to reinstate the orthodox Hindutva from Manusmruti. “It is also a ploy to divert the minds of people from real issues and day-to-day problems. The Modi government at the Centre has failed to generate employment, control inflation and give relief to farmers,” said Chavan.