That’s somewhat true because deobandis find that mawlids are being used as a platform to promote bad practices. Just have to look in Pakistan/India, so many things going on against sharia in these gatherings. So, it’s best as our scholars point out to stay away from these gatherings altogether/ stay away from a thing which would lead one to bidah. To me it makes sense…
on the other hand, there are many mawlids that happen without the need of much bollywood influence. Just look at Shaykh Hamza Yusuf and his school. =)
I find that barelvis are more lax on these issues.. whereas deobandis are stricter.
In a metaphorical way? The barelvis say he’s present at the gatherings, not metaphorically though. And about the chair, some do believe he sits on the chair… ;(
One more issue I have with barelvis is that they promote tawassul too much… which leads people to shirk often (just look in subcontinent) hate to say this but they lead to a path that shias have taken.. That and other reasons why barelvis are looked upon badly. Fine, have love for awliya but don’t go overboard. Deobandis on the other hand keep strict position on this. You won’t hear any deobandi saying “ya rasullullah” in every dua of his nor any gathering.