Remove Shikha And Tilak Or Lose Your Job: Lenskart’s ‘Style Guide’ Sparks Controversy Online, CEO Piyush Bansal Calls It ‘Inaccurate’

Popular Indian spectacles startup owned by Entrepreneur and investor at Shark Tank India, Lenskart is surrounded by controversies and allegations after the TCS conversion racket burst. A young man from Surat, Gujrat who was a trainee at Lenskart’s academy at Mumbai. He reported himself at the centre of an uncomfortable demand. The company officials asked him to remove his Shika, which is a scared tuft of hair worn by devout Hindus and Tikal, and told him that if he refuses to do so, he will lose his job. What began as a whisper from one employee’s experience and turned out to be an explosive corporate controversy after TCS’s conversion gang. 

Social Media Sparks Debate As Internal Document Leaks

The spark that ignited social media was a leaked internal document which is claimed to be the company’s Style Guide. The viral style guide mentions that religious Tikka and Bindi are not allowed. The document was dated 2nd February 2026 and clearly has company branding making it more authentic. 

The claimed styling guide further mentions that Hijab and Turban are allowed; they just need to be black in colour while Bindis, Tilaks, Chooda, and Kalawa are not allowed which further sparked the debate online. 

As per a post shared on microblogging platform X, the document has been verified by two different AI platforms, and it appeared to be true. The post spread rapidly, gaining reactions from different groups of people. 

Piyush Bansal Response To The Controversy

After the controversy broke all over Internet, founder and CEO of the company, Piyush Bansal broke his silence and claimed that the document is inaccurate and suggest that this did not reflect the company’s present guidelines and that outdated version do not represent the company. However, Bansal’s claim of document as false was challenged with a community note on X after which he acknowledged that the document was genuine although incorrect training document. He further stated that it “contained an incorrect line about bindi/tilak that should never have been written” and the company has removed it on 17th February, even before it becomes a public controversy. 

Bansal further stated that “Lenskart was built in Bharat, by Indians, for Indians,” adding that thousands of employees across the country follow their faith and culture proudly at work every day. 

The netzines stated online that the controversy is a mirror held up to corporate India. Inclusivity cannot mean selectively accommodating some faiths while quietly sidelining others. 

Also Read: TCS Big Statement After Nashik Case: Company Says No POSH Complaints Filed By Employees Who Registered FIRs, Reiterates Zero-Tolerance Policy