'Tilak', Raksha Sutra', 'Gau Mutra': VHP's Criteria For Garba Entry Spark Row | Read

Seeking to ensure that only Hindus get entry to garba events, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has said people will have to apply a 'tilak' (a mark on the forehead), tie a sacred thread ('raksha sutra') and offer prayers to a Hindu god before being allowed in. 

'Gau mutra', or cow urine, will also be sprinkled on attendees, the organisation's Vidarbha general secretary Prashant Titre said in Nagpur on Saturday, adding that VHP and Bajrang Dal workers will monitor garba pandals to ensure the guidelines are followed during the Navratra celebrations, which begin on Sunday and end on October 1.