‘Sanatani Mehndi’ stall at Paltan Bazar
‘Sanatani Mehndi’ stall at Paltan Bazar
S.M.A. KAZMI
Dehradun, Oct 9
As part of their campaign of economic boycott of Muslim artisans during the ongoing festival season, a right Hindu organization has set up a “ Sanatani Hindu” stall at Paltan Bazar to apply ‘Mehndi’ on the hands of women and girls for ‘Karva Chautah’ festival to be held on October 10. The banner at the stall announce “ Sanatani Tyohar, Sanatani ke Dwara” meaning that Sanatani Hindu festival should be for Hindus.
A social media post about the stall invited the women and girls to the stall where ‘Sanatani’ artisans would be applying ‘Mehndi’ so that they feel safe. The post also announced that the rates of applying ‘Mehndi’ are less than the prevailing market rates.
For past several years, right-wing Hindu groups have repeatedly called for boycotts of Muslim artisans who apply henna (mehndi) during ‘Karva Chauth’ and other Hindu festivals. These campaigns, sometimes referred to as “mehndi jihad,” are based on a conspiracy theory known as “love jihad,” which falsely alleges that Muslim men seek to convert Hindu women to Islam through romantic relationships and deception. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal and Rashtriya Sevika Samiti jointly organised ‘Mehndi camps’ at 11 locations in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar to urge people not to allow Muslim artists to apply henna on the hands of Hindu women in 2023. At many places, members of right wing groups have been reported to check the identity of ‘Mehndi’ artists to verify their religious identity.
