Influencer Shefali Vaidya Writes To Lenskart Board Over Alleged Anti-Hindu Grooming Policy Banning Bindi, Tilak And Kalawa

Mumbai: Noted influencer and initiator of the ``No Bindi, No Business" campaign, Shefali Vaidya, has written a letter to all the members of the board of directors of Lenskart Solutions Pvt. Ltd regarding the controversy rocking the company over its allegedly anti-Hindu uniform and grooming policy. As per this policy, which has not been denied by the company, while Muslim employees were permitted to wear hijab and Sikhs were allowed to wear turban, there was a clean ban on Hindus sporting bindis, tilak and kalawas.

Vaidya Calls It Systematic Targeting of Hindus

Vaidya said ``the grooming policy of Lenskart that has recently come to public attention contains provisions that are openly and specifically discriminatory against Hindu employees, including penalising the wearing of a bindi, sindoor and Kalawa, all religious and cultural markers of Hinduism, while allowing Hijaab for Muslim women. This is a systematic targeting of Hindu employees’ practices within the workplace.

``Such a policy is in direct violation of the undertakings given by Lenskart to SEBI, and is inconsistent with the obligations of a publicly listed company toward its employees and its regulators;

CEO Called Policy ‘Outdated’, Claimed Repeal on Feb 17

``The CEO of Lenskart (Peyush Bansal) made a public statement claiming that the said grooming document was ‘inaccurate and outdated,’ and went further to assert that it had been repealed on 17th February.

I am in possession of dated screenshots of video audits conducted on 5th April and 8th April, much after the claimed date of repeal, in which Lenskart employees were actively docked points for wearing a bindi. The date stamps on these audits are clearly visible and unambiguous;

Vaidya Holds Testimonies of Discrimination

``This directly and materially contradicts the CEO’s public statement. Either the policy was not repealed when he claimed, or the audit system continued to enforce it regardless. In either case, a false statement was made to the public by the CEO Peyush Bansal on record I also hold on record testimonies, in the form of screenshots and statements from Lenskart employees, past and present t clearly articulating that Hindu employees were systematically and deliberately discriminated against within the organisation;

``As members of the Board of Directors, the CEO is answerable to you. The Board’s fiduciary and governance responsibilities extend to ensuring that the company operates within the law and within its stated regulatory commitments. I therefore ask you directly, was this grooming policy approved or ratified with your knowledge? If yes, you are equally and proportionally culpable for institutionalised religious discrimination against Hindu employees.

If no, I urge you to investigate this matter with the urgency and seriousness it demands, and to take appropriate action against those responsible for both the policy and the false public statement that followed its exposure;

``Discrimination on the basis of religion is a violation of the Constitution of India, specifically Articles 14, 15, and 16, which guarantee equality before law and prohibit discrimination in matters of employment. Such conduct is additionally inconsistent with SEBI’s governance guidelines applicable to publicly listed companies, which require that listed entities maintain ethical, non-discriminatory workplace standards and make truthful public disclosures. A CEO making a materially false public statement regarding a regulatory and legal matter is not a minor concern. It is a governance failure of the highest order;

``I respectfully but firmly request that the Board of Directors issue a formal, transparent clarification on the following:

Whether the Board was aware of, and approved, the discriminatory grooming policy;

What action the Board intends to take in light of the documented evidence that contradicts the CEO’s public statement;

What remedial measures the company intends to put in place to ensure that Hindu employees, and indeed employees of all faiths, are treated with equal dignity and fairness going forward." There was no response from the company to an email from FPJ.

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