Uttar Pradesh: Wedding Bands In Moradabad Told To Drop Hindu Deity Names, Move Aimed To Avoid Hurting Religious Sentiments

Moradabad police have directed wedding band operators to stop using names of Hindu deities for their businesses, following a complaint that such practices were offensive to religious sentiments, the Hindustan Times reported.

The issue came to light after lawyer Shaby Sharma filed a complaint on the chief minister’s portal on 9 July, claimed that around 15 to 20 Muslim band operators in the district were running their businesses under the names of Hindu deities.

He argued that this practice was hurting religious sentiments.

He said this was a deliberate attempt to distort identity and called for strict action.

Acting on the complaint, Superintendent of Police (City) Kumar Ranvijay Singh summoned several band owners on Tuesday (19 August) and instructed them to rename their establishments.

“A complaint was filed on the CM portal that band operators were using the names of Hindu deities. On Tuesday, they were summoned and directed to remove such names. All of them agreed to comply,” Singh was quoted as saying by HT.

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Band operators present at the meeting reportedly did not object to the directive.

Some of them, however, requested time to make the transition, citing existing bookings.

One operator, cited in the HT report, explained that his band had been named after his Hindu guru and had been in business for more than 20 years, but assured police that future bookings would be made under a new name.

Lawyer Sharma welcomed the police action, stressing that it was not discriminatory but a matter of legality and cultural respect.

This controversy comes on the heels of a similar row during the Kanwar Yatra, when eateries and dhabas run by Muslims were found to be using Hindu names.

Moradabad, known for its bustling wedding industry, has over 500 bands in operation.

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