Over the past few years, a section of the mainstream media has been amplifying the bogey of “garba jihad” every Navratri – the Hindutva conspiracy theory that Muslim men are entering garba pandals to lure Hindu women into an Islamist trap.
But it seems to have taken a new dimension this year, with Hindi daily Patrika co-organising and sponsoring a garba event “exclusively for Sanatani Hindu” families in Bhopal. This is in line with calls from various Hindutva groups advocating for restrictions on non-Hindus entering pandals in Madhya Pradesh; and among those who have backed such curbs are state minister Dharmendra Singh Lodha.
