For decades, Muslim garba singers were part of Gujarat’s Navratri celebrations. Since 2014, VHP and Bajrang Dal have steadily pushed them out; this year, many of them performed in the US, UK and Canada
The name of Osman Mir, a Gujarat-based singer who has been performing traditional garba songs for over two decades, has become synonymous with Navratri celebrations in the state. Every Navratri, the nine-day festival of Gujarat, Mir and his troupe would be booked to perform back-to-back at garba events across the state. However, this year, Osman and his troupe are performing at only three events in Ahmedabad.
“We performed at the pre-Navratri event at Ahmedabad’s Swarnim Garba and sang one song on October 1 at their post-Navratri event. Earlier, on September 27, we performed at JashnRatri, a one-night event in Ahmedabad. On September 26, we were invited to perform at Vibrant Navratri, organised by Gujarat’s tourism department. The rest of our invitations were from events outside India,” Amir Mir, son of Osman Mir and a lead singer of his troupe, told The Federal.
Until 2021, his troupe would perform at about 15 to 20 garba events during the Navratri. “We had so many bookings across the state that our troupe would split into two groups, with my father and I attending different events. However, in 2021, we experienced a ruckus for the first time when I was performing at a garba event in Surat. The programme had to be stopped after some men barged in, demanding the cancellation of my performance,” said Amir.
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In 2023, we had only around 10 to 12 bookings, out of which six were cancelled just a day before the event. In 2024, there was a major ruckus at an event in Garden City, one of the biggest residential societies in Ankleshwar in Bharuch district. One of our lead singers, Mir Rahim, was performing when a group of men stormed the stage, disconnected the microphones, and asked our troupe to leave,” added Amir.
Pressure from the Bajrang Dal
In October 2024, six performances by Osman Mir and his troupe were cancelled at the last minute by event organisers: two in Ahmedabad, two in Vadodara, and one in Gandhinagar, following pressure from the VHP and the Bajrang Dal.
Mir, one of Gujarat’s most respected garba singers, is best known for his bhajans (devotional songs) dedicated to Goddess Amba, a form of Durga. Over a 25-year career, he has received numerous honours, including the Gujarat Pride Ratna Award and the Dada Saheb Phalke Chitranagari Award. In 2023, one of his songs was selected to be played during the G20 summit’s state dinner.
“But accolades and government recognition didn’t save him from exclusion at Navratri events,” said Mir Rahim, a long-time member of the troupe who has been performing garba for 15 years. “After 25 years of singing bhajans and being called an icon of religious unity, his identity has been reduced to just being a Muslim. It is humiliating to have bookings cancelled at the last minute. It is terrifying when men storm the stage, snatch the microphone from your hand, and order you to leave or face consequences.”
This year, most of the troupe’s performances took place abroad. “Our shows were in the US and London. After all, an artist will go where his art is respected; nothing else matters,” Rahim added. Organisers of the Garba at Garden City society in Ankleshwar admitted that they, too, had been pressured. “We received a diktat from the local Bajrang Dal unit against inviting Muslim artists,” said a resident and member of the society’s management.
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“Last year, on October 10, about 40 men wearing saffron scarves and shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ barged into our society. When guards tried to stop them, there was a scuffle and members of the Garden City society management had to intervene. The mob left only after we cancelled Mir Rahim’s scheduled performances for October 11 and 12. We don’t want any trouble this year, so we invited only Hindu artists.”
Muslim artists perform abroad
For over a decade, music composer and instrumentalist Iqbal Mir and veteran garba singer Atul Purohit have performed together at United Garba in Vadodara. This year, however, Iqbal was allowed to perform only once at the pre-Navratri event, while Atul was booked for all nine nights along with his son, Jigar Purohit, also a singer.
“In 2015, we formed Rutumbhara, a musical production and entertainment group with Atul as lead singer and Iqbal as our music director and composer. I later joined as a supporting singer and manager. People cheer for Atul on stage, but the songs he performs are created by Iqbal. For years, they’ve been inseparable; Atul singing while Iqbal played the instruments. It is sad that this year we were asked to bring in another instrumentalist,” said Jigar, garba singer and manager of Rutumbhara, speaking to The Federal.
Yamu Sheikh (extreme right) has been performing garba for over 20 years. This Navratri, has has performed at various events in the US and Canada, but not in Gujarat.
“Since 2015, we’ve performed together at United Garba. But this year, just a day before the event, we were told there were objections to Iqbal performing. We went along with it this time, but this can’t continue. Our team is incomplete without him,” he added.
“We have never faced any issues in all these years of playing garba songs together. It is very unfortunate that artists are now being reduced to only their religious identity. When I play Tara Vina Shyam ekaladu lage (Without you, Shyam, I am very lonely) on stage, the only thing I remember is that I am an artist and this song is my art,” said Iqbal, who performed at an event in the US a few days ago.
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Yamu Sheikh, another Gujarati singer who has been performing garba for over 20 years, is singing at various events in the US and Canada this Navratri, but not in Gujarat. “Shaikh was never very religious. He chose Artiben Gadvi, a local folk artist, as lead singer and John, an artist from Maharashtra, as drummer for his band Yamu Beats. I used to play guitar. We performed at all kinds of events throughout the year: Navratri, Christmas, anything. We never faced any problems,” said Attar Khan, a former member of Yamu Beats.
Police force organisers to apologise
“Then in 2014, the VHP in Gujarat issued a notice asking organisers not to invite Muslim artists. Shaikh gave an interview against the notice, saying artists have no religion and that the pious festival of Navratri shouldn’t be politicised. In 2015, members of Bajrang Dal and VHP created a ruckus at a garba event in Ahmedabad where Yamu Beats was performing. Our event was disrupted again in 2016 in Surat. To avoid trouble, we began taking bookings only in small towns, but that didn’t pay much. So Shaikh started accepting invitations from abroad: to the US, UK, and Canada,” he added.
Veteran garba singer Atul Purohit (left) and music composer and instrumentalist Iqbal Mir performed together at United Garba in Vadodara for decades. This year, however, Iqbal was allowed to perform only once at the pre-Navratri event, while Atul was booked for all nine nights along with his son, Jigar Purohit, also a singer.
The demand for excluding Muslim participants and artists from Navratri festivals began in 2014, when the VHP in Gujarat issued a diktat for the first time to organisers of garba events. “We have been demanding this since 2014, but it’s only in the last three or four years that we have been able to implement it at garba venues. This is a festival of Hindus, and Muslims shouldn’t be a part of Navratri in any way. Do Hindus participate in Eid?” Hitendrasinh Rajput, Gujarat spokesperson of the VHP, told The Federal.
In 2014, however, the Gujarat government responded to the diktat by asking state police to ensure no one was barred from entering the events. Later that year, in September, 21 members of Bajrang Dal were arrested for creating a ruckus at an event in Ahmedabad. Despite this, right-wing groups continued their vigilantism during Navratri.
“After 2014, no member of Bajrang Dal or VHP has been arrested by Gujarat police despite repeated incidents of violence and disruption during Navratri. There have been a couple of instances where they were detained, but they were let go within hours. In the last 11 years, the Gujarat police have done nothing to stop the vigilantism of right-wing organisations. Just last week, when Bajrang Dal men disrupted an event in Surat for having Muslim drummers, the police made the organisers apologise instead of arresting those who barged in,” said Mujaheed Nafees, a minority rights activist based in Ahmedabad.