Goa to crack down on beachwear ‘hurting religious sentiments’

Chaitra Shuddha Pratipada

Panaji (Goa): The Goa government will crack down on the sale of clothes, particularly beachwear, carrying images of Hindu deities and quotations of scriptures on them.

The action follows a representation made to the North Goa collector by the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS), a right wing organisation, which says unrestricted sale of such “vulgar” beachwear caused affront to the religious sentiments of Hindus.

“The sub divisional magistrates in the North Goa district have been directed to keep vigil to stop the sale of T-shirts having pictures of Hindu deities and the publications having vulgar pictures of women,” deputy collector A.J. D’Souza says in his order.

“We have formed teams who randomly travel to the coastal areas. They have been instructed to seize such clothes and arrest the sellers of such garments.”

The coastal belt of Goa is synonymous with colourful T-shirts and other cotton beachwear, which often bears religious quotation in Sanskrit and images of several Hindu deities, with several garment manufacturers choosing Lord Shiva as the most preferred deity, from amongst the burgeoning pantheon of Hindu gods and goddesses.

T-shirts, bearing the image of Shiva on one side and of marijuana on the other, are particularly famous with several thousand foreigners, who flock to Goa to revel in the drug-laced rave parties organised along the shores of Anjuna, Arambol, Morjim and others.

“We have also complained about repeated usage of the word ‘Om’ on such vulgar clothing. The word ‘Om’ has a spiritual and religious significance and should not be treated so casually,” Abhijeet Nadkarni, co-convener of the HJS told IANS.