India, Sept. 23 -- The authorities have made identity cards mandatory for participation in garba events during the ongoing Navratri festivities in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal, even as state minister Vishwas Sarang said only Hindus should be allowed to participate in these religious events.

The first such move came after some garba organisers put up banners banning the entry of Muslims, warning that anyone found violating the ban would be subjected to ghar wapsi (religious conversion). People aware of the matter said the administration took note of these developments and issued the identity card mandate as a preventive measure.

In an order, district collector Kaushlendra Vikram Singh asked garba organisers to bar people without identity card...