How Eid prayers at Kolkata's Red Road saw a flip-flop-flip
Kolkata's Indira Gandhi Sarani, formerly Red Road, which has seen grand parades and even fighter jets taking off during World War II, witnessed a flip-flop over its use for the upcoming Eid al-Adha prayers later this week. The Army, which had initially denied permission for the road owned by the Ministry of Defence, citing "military use", has now adjusted its schedule to allow the decades-old Eid namaaz tradition at the Red Road.advertisementThe Calcutta Khilafat Committee, which organises the annual Eid al-Adha prayers on Kolkata's Red Road, applied for permission on May 10, as it had done earlier.The proposed prayer site stretches from the Netaji Statue to the entrance of Fort William, the Eastern Command Headquarters.
On May 31, however, a Colonel-rank officer from the Headquarters Bengal Sub-Area informed the committee that permission for the congregational prayers on June 7 or 8, 2025, was denied due to the area being required for "military purposes", reported the Deccan Chronicle, carrying a scanned copy of a May 31 letter from the Army.ARMY REVERSES DECISION; TO ACCOMMODATE EID PRAYERSHowever, a couple of days later, the Army has decided to alter its training schedule a bit to accommodate Eid al-Adha prayers at Red Road later this week, news agency PTI reported on Monday, citing sources.advertisementWest Bengal minister Javed Ahmed Khan, also part of the Calcutta Khilafat Committee, said that while there were issues over Army permissions due to pre-scheduled military engagements, the matter was being resolved through ongoing discussions between the organisers and Defence officials.The Army, considering the decades-old tradition of Eid prayers being held at the Red Road, decided to tweak its planned training schedule to accommodate the Eid prayers, sources told PTI.A CENTURY-OLD EID NAMAAZ TRADITION: HIGH COURTThe Eid congregation began at Red Road in 1919 after Shahid Minar got waterlogged, Justice Tirthankar Ghosh of the Calcutta High Court noted in April 2025 while hearing a petition seeking the recital of Hanuman Chalisa on the iconic road, according a report in The Times of India.Eid congregations in 2020 and 2021 were not held at Kolkata's Red Road because of Covid-induced lockdown.After a two-year break, Eid prayers at the Red Road resumed in 2022. Despite heavy rain, thousands gathered for the morning namaaz, joined by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who called for unity and resilience.
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