Amongst the many Hindu symbols that have become a victim of the leftist propaganda machinery, Bindi has perhaps been the worst victim. In the context of Hindu culture, the use of Bindi or Tilak on the forehead has deep significance in terms of optimizing one’s physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. The Bindi has always been a traditional adornment of Bharatiya women. But it’s not merely a tool for “Shringar”. The term Bindi is derived from the Sanskrit word Bindu which means particle or drop. The spot between the eyebrows below the forehead is the precise space to apply a Bindi, and that’s because this space is known as the Ajna Chakra, the most powerful chakra in the human body. So sporting a Bindi isn’t merely a cosmetic thing, it has numerous health benefits.
Women in urban Bharat are moving away from the Bindi, owing to the influence of Bollywood and other kinds of popular culture. The entire popular culture industry prefers to skip the Bindi in its depiction of Bharatiya women which in turn creates the perception that wearing a Bindi is old-fashioned or regressive. But even as Bharatiya women are becoming victims of anti-Bindi propaganda, Bindi is making a resurgence all over the world. So much so that an entire day has been devoted to the pride of sporting a Bindi or Tilak. October 15th was celebrated as the International Bindi and Tilak Day by Hindus worldwide.
The International Bindi and Tilak Day was conceptualized in 2021 owing to the efforts of several Hindu organizations and individuals worldwide. These included Hinduism Worldwide Inc, Tara Foundation Malaysia, the Global Hindu Federation and UMHV (United Malaysian Hindu Voice), the Hindu Council of Australia, etc.
According to a podcast by Hindu Parenting, a Bharatiya organization dedicated to working with Hindu parents to spread awareness regarding issues faced by Hindu children, and help them cope with those issues, the International Bindi Day started off as an individual effort of individuals from Malaysia, South Africa, and Australia who propagated the idea and then several organizations worldwide joined in. The idea of the International Bindi and Tilak Day was conceptualized by Dr Jotireka Premraj of Hinduism Worldwide Inc from South Africa, Pardip Kumar Kukreja of Tara Foundation Malaysia, and Karthik Subramanian who runs many Dharmic initiatives in Australia.
As Rekha Achyutuni, Founder, of Hindu Parenting and co-host at the Hindu Parenting Podcast puts it, “A team of three dynamic diaspora Hindus is behind the concept and celebration of IBTD. The goals of the concept creators are to Promote Hindu Unity through Bindi & Tilak and make Hindu identity an Accepted Norm. The idea is very powerful and already has participation from a number of countries and many Hindu organizations are supporting it. We wanted it to reach Indian families and Hindu youth within India”.
The International Bindi Day was celebrated with great gusto and fervour across the world as women took to their social media handles and used the hashtag InternationalBindiAndTilakDay along with pictures of them sporting a Bindi. Not just women, many men also posted pictures of themselves wearing a Tilak.
Events like the International Bindi and Tilak Day are becoming occasions for the Bharatiya diaspora to proudly assert their Sanatan identity. The symbolism of wearing a bindi or tilak on the forehead assumes special significance in the wake of the global leftist and woke propaganda against Hindu culture and civilization. There was a time when wearing a tilak after every day Pooja was a usual thing in Bharatiya households. But this practice began to disappear gradually. Now, in north Bharat especially, one wears a tilak only on special occasions when there is some specific Pooja ceremony happening. Even in households where the everyday Pooja takes place, youngsters especially feel weird about sporting the tilak or Teeka every day. They feel it doesn’t go with their attire and spoils the overall look. How and when did this thinking come into being, is difficult to tell. It’s a very gradual thing that’s a culmination of decades of Bollywood and the fashion world’s soft propaganda against Bindi and Tilak. Villains and criminals in Bollywood movies are shown wearing a huge tilak and “evil”’ women are shown sporting huge Bindis. When would Bollywood and even more importantly, Bharatiya audiences who promote such anti-Hindu movies understand that it is not funny? It is a mockery and demonization of their own culture.
It is in this context that an event like International Bindi and Tilak Day becomes especially significant as Hindus from all over the world reclaim their identity and proudly show off the bindi and tilak on their forehead.
Samir Panday, a Hindu from Toronto Canada, and one of the hosts of “Indic Studies Toronto”, a YouTube channel dedicated to preserving Indic Knowledge celebrated the International Bindi and Tilak Day by proudly wearing a Tilak and posting pics of the same on his social media accounts. “The International Bindi/Tilak Day is special to me because it signifies my Sanatan ancestry and pays homage to our ancestors who have provided us insightful knowledge or gyan about everything in life. It is also a homage to all the yoddhas or warriors who sacrificed their lives for preserving Sanatan Dharma. The Tilak and Bindi are applied on the Ajna chakra which is considered the third eye and helps us in focusing inward on the divine. Thus, it helps us in invoking this divine energy and acts as a reminder of the ultimate life goal”, he says.
The Bindi is making a resurgence the world over. The International Bindi and Tilak Day is not the only day dedicated to celebrating the Bindi as a symbol of Bharatiya culture. There is something called World Bindi Day as well that’s celebrated on the first day of Navratri. World Bindi Day was started by an organization called Mission Bindi in collaboration with various Hindu organizations worldwide including the Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA), Hindu American Foundation (HAF), Hindu on Campus, etc.
The idea is to make these days prominent so that the idea gets registered on a global stage. According to Hindu Parenting’s podcast featuring founders of International Bindi and Tilak Day, the founders are planning to pave the way for the recognition of this day by the United Nations on the lines of something like International Yoga Day. It’s ironic day that even as the diasporic community looks towards Bharat for guidance and inspiration for the promotion of Sanatan Dharma, culture, and heritage, Bharatiyas in Bharat seem to be getting increasingly distanced from their own culture. With regard to the International Bindi Day as well, there is very little awareness in Bharat even as diasporic communities celebrate this day with pride.
“As one of the concept creators mentioned on our podcast, India is the mothership of Hindus, and diaspora Hindus should be looking to India for direction, not the other way around. India should take the lead in the Hindu renaissance and our culture should once again start spreading outwards from India, the home country for Hindus. It’s time to start wearing our markers with pride, and India with its billion Hindus needs to throw its weight behind this movement, to provide the spark”, says Rekha Achyutuni from Hindu Parenting.
Many Bharatiya individuals and Hindu organizations have been taking initiatives to set the record straight when it comes to the portrayal of Hindu culture in popular culture. Shefali Vaidya, a prominent commentator on issues of Bharatiya identity and Hindu culture and a renowned author has been running the “No Bindi no Business” campaign that resulted in a popular fashion apparel label changing the depiction of Bharatiya women in its advertisement. The new advertisement by the same brand now features the woman depicted wearing a Bindi.
