Activists Protest Lenskart Over Grooming Policy Bias

A group of activists led by Bharatiya Janata Party Minority Morcha leader Nazia Elahi Khan stormed a Lenskart eyewear store in Mumbai on April 20, confronting employees over allegations that the company's grooming policies restricted Hindu religious symbols while permitting others, such as the hijab. The incident, captured in a widely shared video, escalated tensions in an ongoing controversy that prompted the retailer to issue a public apology and revise its workplace guidelines.

In the footage, Khan, a Muslim leader affiliated with the BJP's minority wing, entered the showroom with supporters and questioned floor manager Mohsin Khan about the reported bans on items like tilak and bindi. "Is that why tilak was stopped? Because you are Mohsin Khan?" she asked, as the group chanted "Jai Shri Ram." The activists then applied tilak to the foreheads of Hindu employees and tied sacred threads on their wrists, with Khan asserting there was no shame in expressing religious identity. The employees appeared uncomfortable but did not resist. Speaking to reporters outside, Khan accused the company of bias and demanded accountability. "This is a Hindu nation. Lenskart will either be...