In July 2026, pamphlets ridiculing several Hindu religious and cultural practices were distributed in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, by alleged Christian missionaries. Members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) intervened after noticing the activity and later approached the police, as reported by The Commune. The pamphlets distributed by alleged Christian missionaries in Hosur targeted several practices followed in Hindu temples and homes.
These include breaking coconuts as offerings, women wearing flowers in their hair, lighting camphor and burning sambrani during worship. The pamphlets presented these Hindu traditions as unnecessary, misguided, and even wrong and meaningless.
One statement in the pamphlet reads, “God is not the One you carry and bear; God is the One who carries and bears you.”
Women seen distributing pamphlets
According to people who intervened, a group of women were distributing the pamphlets targeting Hindu rituals while also engaging in religious preaching in Hosur. They were accompanied by several children. When questioned, the women reportedly did not provide the name or details of the church or organisation they were connected with.
The women were also noticed without jewellery, flowers or forehead markings. Their refusal to identify the organisation behind their activities became one of the points raised by those who questioned them.
VHP members who noticed the activity objected to the distribution and later approached the police. The police have reportedly started looking into the matter, including the identity of the women and the organisation, if any, associated with them.
Questions over religious practices
The controversy has centred on the pamphlet’s focus on Hindu traditions that are widely followed in Tamil Nadu and other parts of South India. Offering and breaking coconuts, lighting camphor and burning sambrani are common parts of Hindu worship, while wearing flowers in the hair is also closely linked with local cultural and religious traditions.
The VHP members viewed the material as an attempt to question and undermine Hindu traditions while promoting another belief system without clearly identifying the organisation behind the campaign.
The police are reported to be investigating who prepared and distributed the anti-Hindu pamphlets and whether any organisation was involved.
