The woman was seen carrying cattle feed on her head, and the the caption reads: “Ghoongat ki aan-baan, mahra Haryana ki pechchan (pride of the veil is the identity of my Haryana”.

‘ghoonghat’ (veil) as the “identity of the State” had sparked a controversy, with the opposition saying it reflected the “regressive” mindset of the BJP government.

The recent issue of Krishi Samvad, a supplement of the Haryana Samvad magazine, a monthly magazine published by the State government, carried a photograph of a veiled woman. The woman’s face can be seen covered with a ‘ghoongat’.

Pratima Dutta from STV Haryana News wore veil while reading her news bulletin on 29 June to protest the state’s BJP government’s diktat asking women to hide their face behind a veil. She started her news bulletin with her face covered saying that her action was in protest against the state government’s journal asking women in Haryana to cover their faces.