Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Dhirendra Krishna Shastri of Bageshwar Dham has reacted strongly to the controversy involving Lenskart over alleged restrictions on Hindu religious symbols in its workplace rules.
Speaking on the issue, Shastri criticised the company and said, “Ek company hai uska naam Lenskart, usne bola hai ki workers hamare yahan tika lagakar nahi aa sakte, kalawa nahi pehen sakte, chandan nahi laga sakte. Thathri ke bane… apni company Lahore mein khol lo, Bharat mein kyon hai? Tere kakka ka Bharat hai kya?” (There is a company called Lenskart which says workers cannot come wearing tilak, kalawa or chandan. If that is the case, open your company in Lahore; why operate in India? Does India belong to your uncle?)
He further said, “Jinko chandan se, Ram se, Shyam se, Hanuman se, Baba Bageshwar se dikkat ho, wo patli gali Lahore khisak le.” (Anyone who has a problem with chandan, Lord Ram, Lord Hanuman or Hindu traditions should quietly leave India and go to Lahore.)
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He also warned the company to correct its policies, saying, “Beta gadbad ho gaye ho, abhi bhi mauka hai sudhar jao, kyunki Bharat ka kanoon sudhar bhi deta hai aur UP ki police waise hi famous hai.” (You have made a mistake, but there is still time to correct it because the law in India can make people follow the rules, and the police in Uttar Pradesh is known to take strict action.)
How was the controversy started?
The controversy started after a user on the social media platform X shared an internal document claimed to be from Lenskart. The document, described as part of the company’s “Style Guide”, reportedly showed grooming rules for employees.
According to the document, the guide allowed Muslim female employees to wear a hijab but did not allow visible Hindu religious symbols such as bindi, tilak or kalawa.
The document was said to be an internal training material for staff and was reportedly uploaded on the document-sharing platform Scribd.
Check out the post below :
The post quickly went viral and led to criticism from many social media users who questioned why an Indian company would allow one religious symbol while restricting others. Some users also tagged Lenskart founder and CEO Peyush Bansal seeking clarification.
Responding to the backlash, Bansal issued two statements on X. He said that the document circulating online was an outdated internal training document and does not reflect the company’s current policies.
He added that Lenskart respects diversity and does not follow discriminatory rules.
