Overview

• Posters by the Mahakal Sangh International Bajrang Dal remain displayed outside around 40 prominent Jabalpur temples, urging women and girls to wear sarees, salwar-kurtas or other traditional Indian attire and to cover their heads.
• District media in-charge Ankit Mishra described the notices as polite requests to safeguard Indian culture and announced plans to expand the campaign to additional temples.
• Women’s rights advocate Ranjana Kurariya condemned the directives as dictating personal choices and said they hurt women who wish to worship.
• Kurariya challenged the cultural authenticity claims by pointing out that many so-called traditional garments were historically imported into India.
• The debate underscores a broader clash between cultural nationalism promoted by right-wing groups and constitutional protections for individual liberty in religious spaces.