Air India issues clarification on 'no tika, no bindi' policy for cabin crew

After eyewear retailer Lenskart faced public backlash for a style guide banning bindis, Air India is now under scrutiny for similar employee guidelines. An airline spokesperson said that the document circulating online is an "outdated manual".

An Air India spokesperson told HindustanTimes.com that airline crew are allowed to wear bindis, clarifying that the document circulating online is from an "outdated manual." "Air India would like to clarify that its employees have the choice to wear a bindi. The images being circulated online are from an older manual that is no longer in use," the spokesperson said.

Air India's internal grooming guidelines for its cabin crew surfaced online earlier this week, causing outrage over rules prohibiting crew from wearing sindoor, tikka, or bindis.

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The Air India dress code that went viral

The cabin crew handbook stated, "Tikkas, sindoor of any colour on the forehead is not permitted." While the guidelines did not ban bindis outright, Air India specified that a 5mm bindi could be worn optionally with the saree.

It also mentioned that bindi must not have any gold, silver, stones, design, adding that liquid and fancy bindis are not permitted. However, it is not permitted with the Indowestern uniform.

"Chains, necklace or any additional jewellery around the neck is not allowed," the handbook mentioned. 

It further said that religious accessories such as mangalsutra, taali, threads, and beads around the neck are not allowed. 

About the Lenskart dress code controversy

Earlier, Lenskart had faced similar criticism for its policy, which allowed in-store employees to wear hijabs on duty but forbade bindis or kalawa. Lenskart issued an updated style guide after the religious discrimination row erupted, claiming that an older document circulating online did not reflect the company's current policy.

The company's founder and CEO, Peyush Bansal, apologised on social media, disowning the document as an outdated version that does not reflect the company's current stance.

Bansal clarified, "Lenskart has no restrictions on any form of religious expression, including bindi and tilak. The document currently circulating is an outdated internal training document. It is not an HR policy." He further noted, "That said, it contained an incorrect line about bindi/tilak that should never have been written and does not reflect our values or actual practice. When we discovered this on February 17, well before this became a public conversation, we immediately removed it."

Lenskart issued an updated and standardised style guide for all in-store employees on April 18, which greenlit "religious, cultural or family marks (such as bindi, tilak, sindoor or any other)."