The Gujarat government has pulled a poem from the online edition of its Gujarat Deepotsavi Ank magazine after the Vishva Hindu Parishad accused it of hurting religious sentiments by portraying Lord Ram and Meerabai in an objectionable way.

The magazine is published by the state’s Information and Broadcasting department. The poem, written by poet Aziz Tankarvi, was removed and replaced with a poem titled "Joye" by Prakash Jalal. The change was reported on October 26, 2026, from Ahmedabad.

The VHP had moved quickly. According to the organisation, it wrote to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on October 23 and demanded that the Tankarvi poem be taken down immediately. It also asked for action against the author and against the person who approved the piece for publication.

A complaint built on a single page

The VHP’s objection centred on how the poem treated Lord Ram and the 15th century devotional poet Meerabai. The organisation alleged that the verses described Ram’s return to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile in an inappropriate manner. VHP leaders said the poem appeared on page 389 of this year’s annual edition of the magazine.

That detail matters. The poem was not a fringe post on a private blog. It sat inside a government publication, and that is exactly why the VHP framed the matter as a state failure rather than a literary disagreement.

VHP Gujarat spokesperson Hitendrasinh Rajput confirmed that the poem had been replaced. He said it was a relief that the government had responded immediately and taken the poem down. The organisation’s position has been consistent: the damage was done the moment a state-run publication carried the work.

Adding a poem that wrongly wrote about Shri Ram and Meerabai to a government publication is outrageous, the VHP said.

VHP leader Ashwini Patel added that the organisation wanted the state to encourage only those writers who have a full understanding of the nation, religion and culture. That demand moves the row beyond one poem and into the question of who gets to speak through official channels.

The silence from the top

The government’s response, so far, has come through the removal itself. The Secretary of the Information and Broadcasting department, Vikrant Pande, did not issue a public statement on the matter. No official explanation for the publication of the poem, or for its removal, has been reported.

That silence leaves several questions open. The report does not say whether the poem was reviewed before it went online, who was responsible for approving it, or whether any action will be taken against the author or editors, as the VHP has demanded.

The VHP’s letter and the government’s quick removal together show how fast such disputes can move in Gujarat. A complaint, a letter to the chief minister, and a replacement poem all arrived within days of each other.

Why this one is drawing attention

Religious sentiment and state-funded culture have collided in India many times before, and each case tends to follow the same pattern. A group objects to how a religious figure is portrayed. The government acts. The debate then shifts to free expression, artistic freedom and the role of official publications.

In this case, the facts that stand out are plain. A state publication carried a poem the VHP described as objectionable. The organisation filed a formal complaint. The government took the poem down and replaced it. The author’s side of the story has not been reported, and neither has any explanation from the magazine’s editors.

What makes the story hit hard is the combination of a sacred figure, a government seal and a fast reversal. Readers in Gujarat and beyond are now asking whether the state will treat such complaints as routine corrections or as the start of a broader review of what appears in its publications.

For now, the Gujarat Deepotsavi Ank’s online version carries a different poem on the page where the controversy began. The state has not said whether the print edition will also be changed, and it has not said whether the matter is closed.

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