A Durga Puja pandal in Ranchi, designed on the theme of Vatican City, has sparked controversy after the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) alleged that it was an attempt to “hurt Hindu sentiments” and promote religious conversion. The organisers, however, strongly denied the charge.
Vatican City, located in Europe, is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church and the world’s smallest sovereign state.
VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal expressed his objections on X, saying, “This has been done with an objective to hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus and aimed at encouraging religious conversion. If the organisers are so interested in secularism, they should display a photograph of a Hindu God or Goddess at any event organised by the Church or at Madrasas in Ranchi.”
Bansal claimed that Christian symbols, including photographs of Mary and other religious figures, were placed inside the pandal. “The VHP Jharkhand unit will soon take a strong decision about this. We appeal to the organisers to respect religious sentiments and remove these Christian symbols,” he added.
The organisers, however, dismissed the allegations. Vicky Yadav, president of RR Sporting Club, which built the pandal, said, “We have been organising Durga Puja for the last 50 years, and every year we select a theme. This year we recreated the Vatican City pandal that was made in Kolkata in 2022. Artisans from Kolkata were brought in to build replicas of St Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museum as the backdrop for Goddess Durga.”
Yadav said the idea was inspired by the popularity of the Kolkata pandal. “It had drawn huge crowds there, and here in Ranchi too, people are appreciating it. Nobody is hurt by the theme,” he insisted.
Rejecting VHP’s claims, Yadav, who is also president of the Ranchi Zila Durga Puja Samiti, added, “We live in a secular country where people of all communities enjoy Durga Puja. We are performing the rituals as per Vedic traditions and have not done anything to insult anyone’s faith.”
