Latest news with #DurgaPujas
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Kolkata's youth, on Bengali ashmita
'As a non-binary person, I find the most freedom in expressing myself through Bangla. It doesn't confine me to gendered pronouns: I can simply be a 'tui' or 'tumi' to those I love. My Bengali identity thrives in Satyajit Ray's films, in the comfort of aloo-sheddho bhaat, and in the Durga Pujo essays I wrote every year in school, guided by my grandfather's handwritten notes.' — Zoya Khan, filmmaker, 27 'Political movements, intelligence, culture: Bengalis have always been at the forefront of these things.' — Pratyasha Pal, a post-graduate student of History, 23 'Bengali identity is the Bengali language, Durga Pujas, and football. The way we express ourselves in Bengali, our mother tongue, is crucial to expressing our true emotions.' — Guddu Adhikari, hospital intern, 21 'We have a lot to be proud of, as Bengalis, like our literature and our freedom fighters.' — Soumit Choudhury, journalism student, 19 'To me, anyone who speaks Bangla is Bengali. There isn't a divide if you are Hindu or Muslim or where your place of origin is. As a student of Bengali literature, I am very attached to our great writers: Rabindranath Tagore, Jibanananda Das, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.' — Riya Nayak, Bengali literature student, 19 'Bangla is our mother tongue, and to me, that is the most important aspect of being Bengali.' — Aniket Pal, voice actor and blood bank staff member, 25 'Bengali identity is everyone who speaks in Bengali, be it in West Bengal, Tripura, or Bangladesh. It is our mother tongue, and that is where our identity lies; it is a shared identity.' — Abhinab Das, student of philosophy, 20 'If there is anything called Bengali ashmita, then it is a reaction to what is happening in our country right now. Before, this identity was more cultural; now it is a matter of ego as well.' — Rushati Saha, illustrator and graphic designer, 25 'For me, my Bengali identity is associated with Durga Pujas, football, and staying in Kolkata. I was raised in Lucknow, so my exploration of the conventional Bengali culture has been limited.' — Pritam Sarkar, studying Comparative Literature, 20 'Bengal's culture and heritage are great, but the current rate of unemployment and lack of opportunities in West Bengal make me wonder if I have enough to be proud of.' — Shinjini Guha, MBA student, 21 'My favourite part of being Bengali is being in love and expressing love in Bangla. This is the sweetest language in the world.' — Swarnali Adhikari, medical student, 24
The Hindu
03-08-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
'Politics of religion': BJP criticises Mamata for ₹1.1 lakh grant to community Durga Pujas
The BJP criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of indulging in politics of religion over her announcement of a Rs 1.1 lakh government grant for community Durga Pujas. BJP's state general secretary Agnimitra Paul on Saturday (August 2, 2025) alleged that the Banerjee-led government was ignoring development, while giving out doles. Ms. Paul, the MLA of Asansol South constituency, said building temples and giving grants for puja cannot be the objective of a government. "This shows the government is shifting its priorities. Instead of building roads and creating employment opportunities, Mamata Banerjee is busy doing politics of religion," she alleged, speaking to reporters. Now, members of other communities will demand that the government build their places of worship, just like the Jagannath temple in Digha, she added. Ms. Paul, a fashion designer-turned-politician, said the BJP was in favour of developing the education sector, creating employment opportunities, and uplifting every Indian citizen, irrespective of their religion.
New Indian Express
02-08-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Mamata Banerjee and the debate around the almost Rs 500-crore Durga Puja dole in West Bengal
Eighty-five thousand? Ninety thousand? Ninety-five? One? Ok. One lakh ten! And, with that, the hammer came down on Mamata Banerjee's donation of Rs 1,10,000 to each of the 45,000 pandals where Goddess Durga will be worshipped for officially for five days this September-October across West Bengal, including 3000 in Kolkata. This donation, to be made from the coffers of the West Bengal government, was announced by the Chief Minister at Kolkata's Netaji Indoor Stadium on Thursday and it brought the audience of Durga Puja organisers to their feet, hands in air, clapping and cheering. But the noise drowned out a question that should worry anyone in a secular democracy: can the government directly or indirectly promote or even be associated with religion or a religious event? It is a question that has hung in the air since 2018 when, for the first time, Mamata Banerjee declared a grant to the Durga Pujas. Then, the size of the donation or dole was Rs 10000 to around 2,800 pandals or a total of Rs 28 crore. In the last eight years, the number of pandals has grown and, with that, the size of the largesse, totting up this year to a very handsome Rs 495 crore. There is some debate that the number of pandals is 43,000 and not 45,000 and the payout not Rs 495 crore but 473 crore. But that's just hair-splitting. Can the taxpayers' money be spent quite like this? Problematic but politically smart It is a problematic question but politically brilliant. For Mamata Banerjee, the cost benefits are simple. For Rs 495 crore, she secures the loyalty of the clubs that organise the Durga Pujas. The clubs are powerful and influential in their local neighbourhoods; remember, West Bengal has a long history of para and club culture. Winning their support is a sure shot short cut to winning local and bigger electoral battles. And this year's generous jump in largesse—from Rs 85,000 last year to Rs 1.10 lakh per Durga Puja club—surely has much to do with the fact that West Bengal goes to Assembly polls next year. 2026. BJP's Catch 22 It is also a winner of a move as it puts the BJP in a spot. The Durga Puja donation or largesse—many call it dole—completely demolishes the BJP's biggest ammunition against Mamata Banerjee: the charge of minority appeasement. The move is a thorn in BJP's flesh for yet another reason—the BJP can't oppose the dole to the Durga Pujas because it is, after all, donation to a Hindu religious festival. No wonder BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari fumed, "Let her give Rs 2 lakh or 10 lakh to the Durga Pujas. We are not complaining. But let her also pay DA arrears to government workers that is pending for ages and fill in vacancies in government." West Bengal has around 12 lakh employees including pensioners who are due DA totalling, according to some reports, a payout of Rs 10,000 crore. The court ordered on May that the DA arrears should be paid within three months which means by mid-August. So far, there have been no payments. It's the economy, honey The strongest defence of the dole/donation/largesse by Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress party (TMC) is that the government intervention is meant to boost the local economy that has grown over the decades around the Durga Pujas. According to a study in 2013, the size of the festival economy was about Rs 25,000 crore. In 2019, the British Council conducted a survey on the festival economy which was relabelled "creative economy" that goes on round the year. That survey put the size of the creative economy at Rs 32,377 crore. Mamata Banerjee's argument is, the state government payout is directed not at religious affairs but at improving the economics for thousands of people who make a living from the festival—idol makers, pandal makers, drummers, decorators and dozens others. Economists have backed the model of economic development and given Mamata Banerjee a clean chit. Politically fraught This debate about whether the Durga Puja dole/donation is against secularism or not has been going on since it started being given in 2018. But it is in election years that the issue becomes particularly fraught and explosive. While Mamata Banerjee may have announced the donation and moved on, with the confidence that it will bring her political dividends, the BJP is desperately trying to launch an effective counter offensive. Last heard, BJP's Suvendu Adhikari has appealed to Durga Puja pandal committees to reject the dole as a protest against the rape and murder of the RG Kar doctor last year that had rocked Kolkata, and in fact, communities across the world. Last year, a handful of puja committees had set the example. All eyes are on how many will follow suit this year. But Adhikari's strategy is clear: to enlarge the scope of opposition to Durga Puja donation by the state. But for the last seven years, Mamata Banerjee has reaped huge benefits from this strategic intervention and there are very little signs of that changing in its eighth year or the foreseeable future. In fact, it is hard to imagine that should BJP come to power in the state, it will roll back the dole to the goddess. The political ethics of Durga Puja dole will always be debatable but the West Bengal Chief Minister is not turning a hair, as long as the dole earns her the people's—and perhaps divine—blessings.
The Hindu
31-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
With eye on Assembly polls, West Bengal CM hikes honorarium to community Durga Pujas by 30 %
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday hiked the honorarium to community Durga Pujas in the state to ₹1.10 lakhs marking an almost 30 % increase from the ₹85,000 given to puja community last year. The hike in honorarium to community Durga Pujas months ahead of Assembly polls in the State, evoked strong reaction from Opposition parties who described it as a 'bribe' by the West Bengal's ruling party. Ms. Banerjee said that the number of Durga Puja clubs which organise community Puja in West Bengal is about 45,000 and going by the numbers the honorarium is going to cost ₹495 crore to the State exchequer. The Chief Minister also urged electricity supply companies to give 80 % rebate to the clubs organising Puja and said that all government 'Last year the sum was ₹85,000, this year how much you want. Should it be ₹90,000, ₹95,000, One lakh. Ok let us fix it is ₹1.10 lakh this year,' she announced amidst applause from Durga Puja organisers at a gathering in Kolkata's Netaji Indoor Stadium. Highlighting that Durga Puja is the festival which is close to the hearts of every resident of the State, the Chief Minister told organisers that their focus should be crowd management and clubs should not compete with each other to draw large crowds. Ms. Banerjee advised the clubs to engage more volunteers and have separate entry and exits in Durga Puja pandals. The Durga Puja festival will be held in the last week of September and the Durga Puja Carnival will be held on October 5. Ms. Banerjee urged the Durga Puja organisers to help the migrant workers who have returned to the State after facing harassment in BJP-ruled States. 'I request Durga Puja committees to help migrant workers, who are returning to Bengal after facing torture in BJP-ruled states.' Opposition asks CM to release Dearness Allowance Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari said that the Chief Minister can pay ₹2 lakhs to Durga Puja but before that she should pay the Dearness Allowance (DA) to employees. 'She should increase the salary of ICDS, Angandwadi workers, civic police volunteers and other contractual staff,' Mr. Adhikari said. The LOP predicted that before the Assembly polls Ms. Banerjee will hike the honorarium given to imams and muezzins by ₹500. The honorarium to Durga Puja clubs has on several occasions been challenged before the Calcutta High Court and the State government's argument has been that the funds are to increase awareness on several issues including Safe Drive Safe Life. The Mamata Banerjee government had introduced honorarium to committees organising Durga Puja in 2018 promising a sum of ₹10,000 to each club. In seven years the grant has increased by 11 times. Last year Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court T.S. Sivagnanam had told Advocate General Kishore Dutta, representing the West Bengal government, that the state should consider giving ₹10 lakh to each organiser as that would be commensurate to conducting the puja, saying that ₹85,000 is nothing compared to the expenditure required to celebrate the Durga puja.
The Hindu
31-07-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Kavi Subhas, a major Kolkata metro station to remain closed for nearly a year after cracks appear on structure
Kolkata Kavi Subhas the terminal station of North South Metro Station (Blue Line) to be razed after cracks develop in the structure, commuters worry as metro services truncated for almost a year. Metro Railway Kolkata authorities have decided to raze parts of the structure, and the reconstruction work may take close to a year making commute difficult for regulars. This comes after cracks were noticed on the structure on July 28 (Monday) which was caused due to foundation subsidence following heavy rainfall in the city for the past few days. All the other stations on the Blue Line are in good condition and operations will remain unaffected. The Blue Line will now operate between Dakshineswar to Shahid Khudiram stations. As the Kavi Subhas metro station also known as the New Garia area is a cardinal station which connects the metro to the local train lines from the suburban areas and South 24 Parganas, it forms the lifeline for workers coming in from outside the city for work. 'The UP platform's four pillars have developed cracks which holds the roof structure above. We stopped metro services on Monday from 12.45 p.m. for passenger safety,' a senior railway official told TheHindu. The official also confirmed that they have also started repair work will take almost 6-8 months to complete. 'We will send out a tender call on August and do the rest of the repair work once the tender is passed,' the official added. He also stated that they had plans to start repair work after the 2025 Durga Pujas but the urgency in the situation led them to start the work immediately. The other metro line between Kavi Subhas and Ruby Crossing on the Orange Line will remain unaffected as the other side structure remains unaffected. According to sources, metro officials have said that the decision was taken keeping passenger safety in mind and the whole work will take a few months to complete. Many unaware passengers had turned up at the closed down metro railway station and got stranded on Tuesday and Wednesday. But metro officials have maintained constant announcements on the routes to notify about the station closure. Many local auto riders asked for double fair to transport people between Kavi Subhas and Shahid Khudiram stations accused passengers. EOM
