Durga Puja, the biggest cultural festival in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal — indeed, the biggest annual occasion for the Bengali diaspora everywhere in the world — is preceded by a very black mood in the state this year. Civil society protests have erupted like never before over the gruesome rape-murder of a trainee doctor on August 9, 2024, at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in the state capital Kolkata, and one of the major fallouts is the refusal of many Durga Puja committees to accept the state grant of INR 85,000 (USD 1,014) from the Mamata Banerjee-led administration.
The religious festival has been placed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The state-government grant is given to boost the Durga Puja economy, which, as per The Times of India, reached an estimated INR 50,000 crore (USD 5,961,435,000) in 2023.
As news spread of the rape-murder, which the West Bengal government under the ruling Trinamool Congress had at first tried to hush up as a “suicide”, furious civil society protests broke out, first in Kolkata and then in other parts of India. Though a series of allegations and counter allegations have followed the rape-murder of the doctor, one thing has emerged as clear as daylight: the inaction from the state government and the lack of empathy from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, herself a woman.
Angered by this callous attitude of the West Bengal administration, many Durga Puja committees have staged this protest: refusing the Durga Puja grant given by the state government. Civil society activists are encouraging all the Durga Puja committees to boycott the grant.
The first to declare the refusal was Shakti Sangha in Uttarpara. This Durga Puja committee reportedly said “no” to the INR 85,000 grant in protest against the state government’s approach to the RG Kar rape-murder case.
Soon, the Hiland Park Utsav Committee (HPUC) in South Kolkata followed. Speaking to Connected to India on condition of anonymity, an office bearer-from the HPUC said: “We want this [Durga Puja grant] money to be utilised for improving the safety of women in the state. Build more restrooms for women, not just in the medical field, but also in other sectors where women are employed and work night shifts. Instead of giving us the money, use it to ramp up those.”
As per reports, the West Bengal government will spend more than INR 340 crore (USD 40,567,916) in grants to Durga Puja committees in 2024.
An office-bearer of the Durga Puja organised by Neelachal Abasan Co-op Society Ltd. in Kasba, Kolkata, told Connected to India on condition of anonymity that refusing the Durga Puja grant of INR 85,000 this year had a dual reason — one, a mark of protest against the RG Kar rape-murder case; two, a desire to see the state funds utilised for enhanced statewide security for women.
The decision to turn down the West Bengal government grant was taken unanimously by the Neelachal complex residents, after 135 women and men from the housing complex took part in the statewide night march on August 14.
The night march saw tens of thousands of people walk the streets in protest, mainly starting from three places in Kolkata — Jadavpur in South Kolkata; College Street in north of the centre; and Academy of Fine Arts in the central part of the city. Cries of “We Want Justice” reverberated in the air. Smaller towns and villages in West Bengal also saw marches in several places.
Speaking to Connected to India, a Kolkata doctor, who wanted to be identified only as SR, said, “My take is: 1) The Durga Puja committees should either refuse the grant of INR 85,000 from the Government of West Bengal, or they should take the grant and give it to the victim’s parents; and 2) let the Durga Pujas follow the earlier format: open the pandals on Sashthi. Newer trends like defying the religious protocol; traffic disruption; and inauguration of various Durga Pujas by VIPs from Mahalaya day should be banned forever.”
Another Kolkata doctor, who wanted to give only the initials AB, told Connected to India that all the Durga Puja committees in the state should not only refuse the West Bengal government grant as a mark of protest, but should also “tell the administration to pool the funds and use it for enhanced women’s welfare and improved safety of women doctors in all hospitals”.
A doctor who gave her initials as SD said that Durga Puja committees in West Bengal could register a symbolic protest by not having a Durga idol in their pandals and could limit the worship to Ghat Puja only without the usual festivities.
OP, who walked in the protest march in Bardhaman, told Connected to India: “Why do you want to celebrate ‘Nari Shakti’ (woman power), when you fail to protect women in the first place?”
OP also called out the lack of empathy from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. “It’s baffling that being a woman, she totally mismanaged the situation,” she said.
A Kolkata-based author and journalist, who identified herself only by her last name “Sen”, told Connected to India, “All Durga Puja committees need to refuse any [West Bengal] government grants. But only this is not enough. In addition, a few more things should be done to send out a message. These are:
- No ruling party members in West Bengal should be allowed to ‘inaugurate’ a Durga Puja, least of all the Chief Minister herself, since they have all been trying their best to shield criminals.
- The proper way to begin Devi Durga’s worship is with bodhan, on Shashthi, and the rituals end with visarjan. I would suggest we return to this process. Let there be no pre- and post-Puja extension to the Durga Puja dates as stated in the panchang.
- Let there be no carnival procession at the end of the Durga Puja festivities.
- And, please, let us not have any pandal themes, least of all the portrayal of this horrific [RG Kar] incident that has shaken humanity to the core. Let us all pray for honesty, strength and courage in the face of all evil.”
The mood is sombre not only in Kolkata, but also across the state of West Bengal. The protests were also not limited to West Bengal. Doctors all over India took part in the agitation, demanding safety. The ripples of the Kolkata rape-murder horror were also felt 5,000 kilometres away in Singapore.
Speaking to Connected to India, Shirshendu Bhattacharya, an organiser of the Singapore Indian Puja Association (SIPA), said, “We were the first ones to call this [the Kolkata rape and murder] out.”
In an official statement, the Singapore-based Durga Puja committee said: “Dear SIPA family,
“As we celebrate the festival that honours the bond between siblings, cousins, and friends, we express our sisterhood with the young doctor at RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata, who was tragically and brutally killed. In her memory, we are changing our profile pictures to black for the day.
“We are deeply saddened, angered, and feel a profound sense of helplessness over this tragedy. We pray to Ma Durga, the embodiment of feminine strength, to ensure that justice is served for the victim and her loved ones. We stand with her family, condemn such atrocities, and strive collectively for a safer community and workplace for all.
“At SIPA, we believe in the power of our collective prayers and remain hopeful for justice.”
Bhattacharya said that his organisation was trying to arrange a ‘march for solidarity’ this weekend. “During Durga Puja, we will do something to show the problems,” he said.
The Kolkata rape-murder case has already been taken up by the Supreme Court of India. A three-judge bench, presided over by the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, has rapped the West Bengal government over its delay in filing an FIR in the case.
Even before the Supreme Court stepped in, the RG Kar case was handed over to the federal investigating agency Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at the order of the Calcutta High Court. Though Kolkata Police have arrested a civic volunteer as the main accused in the rape-murder, there is a strong belief across the state that many more people are involved in the brutal crime, directly or indirectly.
