Based on a *Pew Research Center* survey from 2021, 84% of Hindu women in
India wear a bindi. The survey also highlighted significant regional and
demographic variations in bindi-wearing practices.
Key statistics from the 2021 survey
National average: 84% of Hindu women in India wear a bindi.
Regional differences: The practice varies considerably by location:
Northeast India: Hindu women in this region are significantly less likely
to wear a bindi (59%) compared to the national average.
South India: A smaller share of Hindu women in the South (22%) say they
cover their heads, but data for bindi-wearing specifically is not detailed
in the available summary. However, other sources mention that in the South,
bindis are culturally worn by females of all ages, regardless of marital
status, unlike some regions in the North.
Men and tilak: The survey also collected data on men wearing a tilak, a
similar forehead marking.
National average: Just over half of Hindu men (53%) wear a tilak.
Brahmin men: This is significantly higher among Brahmin men (76%), a
historically priestly caste.
Northeast India: Only 21% of Hindu men in the Northeast region wear a
tilak, lower than the national average.
Nuances in bindi-wearing
While the survey provides specific numbers, it's important to understand
the cultural and social context of bindi-wearing. The practice is not
mandatory and its meaning varies:
Marital status: Traditionally, a red bindi is a sign of being married for
Hindu women in many regions. In parts of North India, unmarried girls were
sometimes discouraged from wearing them.
Fashion and personal choice: In contemporary India, the bindi has also
become a fashion accessory and is worn by women of all ages, regardless of
their marital status or religious beliefs.
Cultural symbol: Wearing a bindi is a way for many to express cultural
pride and identity.
Regional customs: There are different regional styles, such as the large
crescent-shaped Chandrak or bindi in Maharashtra.
Widowhood: The traditional practice of widows abstaining from wearing a
bindi still exists in some rural areas, though it is less common among the
urban and educated population.
The bindi has multiple meanings:
Archaeology has yielded clay female figurines from the Indus Valley with
red pigment on the forehead and hair parting. It is unclear whether this
held any religious or cultural significance.
In Hinduism, the colour red represents honour, love, and prosperity, hence
bindis are worn to symbolize these qualities after marriage in particular.
In meditation, the point between the eyebrows (Bhrumadhya) is where one
focuses one's sight, to help concentration. Most images of Hindu, Jain or
Buddhist divinities in meditative poses with their eyes nearly closed show
the gaze focused between the eyebrows (another spot being the tip of the
nose—naasikagra)
Swami Muktananda writes that "auspicious Kumkuma or sandalwood paste is
applied (between the eyebrows) out of respect for the inner Guru. It is the
Guru's seat. There is a chakra (centre of spiritual energy within the human
body) here called Ajna chakra, meaning 'Command centre'. Here is received
the Guru's command to go higher in Sadhana (spiritual practice) to the
'Sahasraar' (seventh and final chakra) which leads to Self-realisation. The
flame seen at the eyebrow is called 'Guru Jyoti'."
The encyclopedic Dictionary of Yoga reports that this 'Ajna Chakra' is also
called the 'Third eye'. This center is connected with the sacred syllable
'Om' and presiding, is 'Parashiva'. On activating this centre, the aspirant
overcomes 'Ahankāra' (the ego or sense of individuality), the last stop on
the path of spirituality.
The bindi continues to hold symbolic significance rooted in Indian
mythology and is traditionally associated with Hindu culture. "wearing a
bindi or mangalsutra is a sign of Hindu women. The traditional bindi still
represents and preserves the symbolic significance that is integrated into
Indian mythology in many parts of India."
There is a new game in town. It is called:
I-can-outdo-you-and-create-the-most-implausible-and-zany-comparisons-to-trash-Hinduism.
This is score-settling blather, and juvenile. A bizarre bandwagonism is at
play here as you notice that a massive and concerted effort is afoot to
deplatform Hindus and their Sanatana Dharma. The good news is that this
deplatforming is not likely to happen, even though Hindus worldwide are
ominously threatened today, subject to Hinduphobia, as their faith is
pilloried, misrepresented and blatantly lied about. In the last few days,
much flack has been flying around about the Hindu bindi -- variously called
pottu in South India, and tika or tilak elsewhere. Both Hindu women and men
wear bindis on their foreheads, and it was traditionally available in
myriad hues of red, and sandalwood paste, or saffron: it could be round in
shape, a streak, a line, or in more decorative forms; it is now worn in
other colours too. The spot on the forehead where the bindi is worn marks
the ajna chakra, which contains the pineal gland and the hypothalamus, and
is represented by the Omkara. The author Pavan Varma does some erratic
explaining about, and assignation to, the bindi in a recent piece in one of
India’s dailies. There are two points on which Varma falters. He says that
the bindi is a symbol of patriarchy: he’s wrong. The fact that both men and
women wear a bindi should dismiss any specious conflation of it with
patriarchy - a word so sloppily bandied about in ubiquitous Hindu-bashing
discourse today that you have to be cautious using it. Second, and more
intemperate, is his equating the bindi - a symbol of liberation and beauty,
on a wholly visible female face - with the burqa. What is Varma's false-
analogy-creating, faux-oppression-mongering gambit, I wonder? Why does he
create these counterfeit and dangerous equivalences? Which master dialogue
is he in vassalage to? The bindi does not signify bondage; the case is
quite the contrary. Varma's equating an attractive and liberating symbol to
a loss of freedom for Hindu women, and, following this, equating it to the
burqa, are flat out preposterous. First, you see the entirety of a woman's
face when she wears a bindi; the burqa hides women's faces - it is meant to
conceal and shut out women's faces and bodies. Also, the bindi symbolizes
liberation; I'm not sure we can say that of the burqa, which has only
recently been repudiated as repressive by a roster of Afghan women
embracing the magnificent colours of their traditional attire, which
empowers them into showing their charmante faces and not be badgered into
concealing them. The bindi represents the chandrabindu/anusvara on the
pranava, the Omkara, or Om - the sound of cosmic creation, from which all
sound and knowledge originate: hence, Udgitadpranavagitah sarva
vagishwareshwaraha. The Om is believed to grant human beings viveka and
jnana, or discrimination and wisdom. Women in rural India and small towns
wear no makeup: the sole splash of colour on their visage is the bindi.
Colour is raga; as well, it is ranga (the colour of the numinous, the
spirit, and, per ancient, sacred Hindu texts, present in all humanity and
creation). When America’s legendary Modern Dance choreographer, the late
Merce Cunningham, a devotee of Paramahamsa Ramakrishna, was with us at
Carnegie Mellon, he inevitably alluded to the colour in India, with delight
and reverence. Fence sitters inevitably bark on both sides. They fought
across continents a few years ago to ban the ‘oppressive’ burqa; now,
chameleonic apologists think it is okay for women to be forced into wearing
it and obeying the dictates of a male cabal. Liberation, or the possession
of higher and more meaningful inclinations, and a turning of the mind
towards the sublime -- such as the intended achievement of a
metaphysical/mystical union with the Infinite, the beyond, and the ever
expanding frontiers of both the universe and human consciousness -- is what
is signified by women wearing a bindi. There is no compulsion at all, but
most Hindu women in India wear it throughout the day, with pleasure. When I
was a little girl at Rishi Valley School, in south India, my classical
dance teacher would insist we come to class with a bindi. Why? Because she
said that with the bindi our little faces looked like ‘romba azhahārka,’ or
‘very beautiful’, in Tamil. My maravilhoso, well-dressed female household
staff in India always wears bindis, and if they forget to wear them, they
tell me they feel incomplete: there’s no patriarchy here. Also, Varma does
not speak for them. What Hinduism now witnesses is an awakening, and a
culture of resistance, pursuant to centuries of colonial diminishment and
atrocities, followed by current, coordinated worldwide attempts to demonise
innocent, faith-loving Hindus and render them marginal. Hindus don’t accept
western domination and its dirigente ideas any longer; they have, and will
always be, open to absorbing the best thought from other faiths and
philosophies across the world, ‘other echoes (that) inhabit the garden,’
(Eliot), but they recognize the treasure of dharmic knowledge that is
theirs for the asking. It is this deep, neglected lake of wisdom that
Hindus now wish to further explore, ignoring bogus equivalences and their
creators. [TIMES OF INDIA]
Thus 16% of 2021 is increased to 32% hardly out of the population
it is just 40 crore (out of 148 crore) only. Only when the uncultured
reveal their minds the value of culture is well known. K Rajaram IRS
201025
On Mon, 20 Oct 2025 at 08:34, Narayanaswamy Sekar <[email protected]>
wrote:
>
>
> ----- Forwarded Message -----
> *From:* "N Sekar" <[email protected]>
> *To:* "[email protected]" <[email protected]>, "Surendra Varma" <
> [email protected]>
> *Cc:* "Kerala Iyer" <[email protected]>, "Chittanandam V. R." <
> [email protected]>, "Rangarajan T.N.C." <[email protected]>,
> "Suryanarayana Ambadipudi" <[email protected]>, "Mathangi K. Kumar"
> <[email protected]>, "Rama (Iyer 123 Group)" <[email protected]>,
> "Srinivasan Sridharan" <[email protected]>, "Dr Sundar" <
> [email protected]>
> *Sent:* Mon, Oct 20, 2025 at 8:30 AM
> *Subject:* Re: No Bindi No Business | HINDUPHOBIC ads | Dev Diwali 2022 |
> Shefali Vaidya
>
>
> Thank you Suren ji and Sri Mani.
>
> I found a few typos in my earlier response to Sri Suren as I did it
> hurriedly without my reading glasses, Sorry.
>
> Suren ji,
>
> Her observations must be looked at in the context she was describing,
> otherwise it may sound to be exaggerated.
>
> What you have stated about us Hindus, is an undeniable and sad statement.
> Otherwise how do you explain those shameless, selfish, ignoramus Hindus
> who still vote for the INDI Alliance because
>
> 1.Of Caste considerations (forgetting if Hinduism is in danger there will
> be no Caste to claim).
>
> 2. They wear blinkers and see no danger forgetting we are now less than
> 80% compare to 95% and above before.
>
> 3. They are not personally affected, these fellows can't see beyond their
> nose - they are blind, deaf and dumb. They can't see what is happening in
> Karnataka, Kerala, T N and West Bengal etc
>
> INDI Alliance has taken anti Bharat and anti Hindu stand on every issue
> BUT these idiots can't see any of them. They are the worthy Chelas of M K
> Gandhi - see, hear and speak no evil about those who abuse Hinduism and
> Hindus. I am happy they have not gone on fast protesting that those who
> abuse Hinduism must not be criticized. Thank God.
>
> Who says we Hindus need enemies?
>
> N Sekar
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer
> <https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&c=US_Acquisition_YMktg_315_SearchOrgConquer_EmailSignature&af_sub1=Acquisition&af_sub2=US_YMktg&af_sub3=&af_sub4=100002039&af_sub5=C01_Email_Static_&af_ios_store_cpp=0c38e4b0-a27e-40f9-a211-f4e2de32ab91&af_android_url=https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yahoo.mobile.client.android.mail&listing=search_organize_conquer>
>
> On Mon, Oct 20, 2025 at 8:06 AM, APS Mani
> <[email protected]> wrote:
> So impressed to read this correspondence. Sum and substance, let us hope
> for the very best for BHARAT. Salutes to you all, Mani
>
> On Mon, Oct 20, 2025 at 7:23 AM Surendra Varma <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> Happy Deepawali to you, too, N. Sekar, Sir.
>
> Yes, I was not hearing her because of my severe hearing loss. I was
> only reading the subtitles.
>
> In line with your assessment of Hindus, I have said it before that
> they are a commodity available for sale. In my posts I have also said
> many times that Hindus follow a crab culture where one crab pulls down
> the other crab trying to climb up. A recently joined Maharishi in our
> group rebuked me for using that expression and admonished that I
> should learn how to write. A good example of crab culture!
>
> Another example: Akhilesh Yadav, a Hindu descendant from Lord
> Krishna's community, recently ridiculing Hindus in his public speech,
> said: "you put a piece of saffron cloth on a stone, put a tilak on it
> and flowers around it. In a short time it will develop into a new
> Hindu god or goddess". He said this to please Muslims (his vote bank)
> particularly.
>
> He forgot to tell his audience that you put a piece of green cloth on
> a piece of land. It soon becomes the property of the Muslim Waqf Board
> in India.
>
> In a recent speech by a Maulana, he said this to the Hindus: "Aap ko
> hamara mazhb pasand nahin, to aap kisi doosre mulk mein chale
> jaieyay".
> (Hindi to English: If you don't like our religion you should feel free
> to move to another country.)
>
> What a great piece of advice to Hindus in Hindustan by a Maulana!
>
> I do not think that speeches and repeated calls for action will help
> change what we have in our genes: betrayal embedded in Me, Myself and
> I.
>
> Hinduism is now at the edge.
>
> Suren
>
> Suren
>
>
>
>
> On Sun, 19 Oct 2025 at 20:32, Narayanaswamy Sekar <[email protected]>
> wrote:
> >
> > Thanks Sir.
> >
> > Happy Deepavali.
> >
> > I think you have not heard her properly.
> >
> > 1. She was mocking the S C and other activists for banning crackers ONLY
> during Deepavali but turning a blind eye when others do it, and for burning
> millions of candles and killing of millions of animals during Christmas and
> Bakrit. That's why the Remark whether they emit oxygen during other times?
> What she forgot to say was IIT found that stabble burning in Punjab over
> several days was responsible for over 98% of pollution in Delhi and not
> firing of crackers.
> >
> > 2. Sir, S C hears and passes orders ONLY regarding Hindu Religion and
> overruled traditions but does not interfere in the case of others.
> >
> > I hope you have followed the Nupur Sharma case where the judges (?)
> Castigated for just quoting what was in the Quran bur did not utter a word
> about the insults heaped on Shiva by the other side.
> >
> > S C turned a blind eye when the Dy C M of T N asked for Sanadhana
> Dharma to be eradicated.
> >
> > The same S C which hears the 1984 Sikhs case refused to hear the 1990
> Kadhmiri Pandits case saying no point in reopening a very old case. Most of
> us are blissfully unaware of it.
> >
> > That's she said what next, measure the water for Abhishek?
> >
> > Where and when do we draw line?
> >
> > Yes, nothing prevents us from following and disobeying the unjust
> observations of the S C BUT we Hindus are a timid, meek, spineless and
> above all THE MOST SELFISH race - some of us will betray our own religion
> and stab those who fight for our rights in the back
> >
> > In no other country the majority religion is crucified as Hinduism is in
> India. Sadly, it is done mostly by our own. Centuries of slavery has made
> us all spineless and ever ready to please the Hindu haters.
> > That's why when somebody with spine stands up, we need to show our
> support.
> >
> > Pl hear her again.
> >
> > Regards
> >
> > N Sekar
> >
> > On Sun, Oct 19, 2025, 10:10 PM Surendra Varma <[email protected]>
> wrote:
> >>
> >> She said "crackers emit oxygen"! Interesting. Nay?
> >>
> >> My question is who stops Hindus from following the Sanatana Dharma?
> >> Muslims, on the other hand, wear their traditional dress and sport a
> >> beard, and pray at least on every Friday, come what may, anywhere in
> >> the world. The fact is that Hindus love to imitate the western
> >> culture.
> >>
> >> Her claims about the courts deciding for Hindus how much water to use
> >> for Puja, etc are exaggerations, not based on facts, so I believe.
> >>
> >> Suren
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> On Sun, 19 Oct 2025 at 12:04, N Sekar <[email protected]> wrote:
> >> >
> >> > Happy Deepavali to all and thanks to those who wished us earlier
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR RELIGION, Pl listen to this less than 3
> minutes talk and click the like button and leave a few words of
> appreciation.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > I just did, to show my support and that I am a proud Hindu WITH SPINE.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > Decision is yours. Let us also pull our weight and not ride always on
> other's shoulders.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > What a messagesge has conveyed? She deserves the respect of all
> Hindus who love their religion.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > N Sekar
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > https://youtube.com/watch?v=v7shjTJZVeQ&si=b_5cEVb1_BeBmttt
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer
>
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