The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) recently made a call to bar Muslims from Garba/Navratri events, which was backed by minister Nitesh Rane. Of course, social media raised its voice, and so did Amruta Fadnavis, wife of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. She said, “I feel our festival is inclusive. If a Muslim person comes and enjoys Garba and leaves, I would not find anything wrong with it.” She went on to call Garba a “national celebration”. 

The politicians on both sides have their own take on this opinion, but my takeaway is that Amruta did good. She said the sane and normal thing to say. She was the Indian we hope all Indians are —inclusive and non-divisive. And this got me thinking — why have we always reduced Amruta to her singing and her fashion choices? Why have we never taken her seriously?