The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has urged Durga Puja organisers in West Bengal to follow traditional religious practices and maintain the sanctity of puja pandals during the five-day festival.
The Hindutva organisation also called for a ban on non-vegetarian food inside pandal premises, while clarifying that such food could be sold at designated places outside the pandals.
The VHP made the suggestions during a meeting with major Durga Puja organisers and priests at the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) in Salt Lake on Wednesday.
VHP Opposes ‘Distorted’ Durga Idols
VHP state functionary Swarup Chatterjee said the organisation wanted organisers to preserve the religious character of Durga Puja and follow Sanatani traditions.
“During the meeting, we urged puja organisers to preserve the religious dignity and purity of Durga Puja, focusing strictly on Sanatani traditions. No distortion of Durga idols in the name of themes will be encouraged,” Chatterjee said.
The VHP criticised themes used in some earlier Puja celebrations, including depictions of Goddess Durga as a widow and the use of shoes and broken glass in pandal artwork.
“We maintain that idols of Goddess Durga and even the Asura must look like their original scriptural descriptions,” Chatterjee said.
Non-Vegetarian Food Allowed Outside Pandals
The VHP also asked Puja committees to prohibit non-vegetarian food inside pandal premises.
“We have requested organisers to ensure a strict prohibition of non-vegetarian food inside the pandal premises. There are no objections to non-vegetarian stalls operating outside or near the pandals,” Chatterjee said.
The organisation said its position was not aimed at changing Bengal’s food culture but at keeping the area around the deity clean and maintaining what it described as religious sanctity.
VHP central advisory council member Nirgunananda said, “We are not unaware of Bengal’s culture or food habits.”
He added that Durga Puja in Bengal had never been exclusively vegetarian, but argued that food waste and leftovers should not enter or contaminate the area around the deity.
VHP Warns of Intervention
The VHP has also indicated that it could intervene if Puja committees do not follow its suggestions.
The organisation criticised the slogan “Dharmo jarr jarr, utsob sobar”, meaning “religion is personal, festival universal”, which has been associated with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Nirgunananda said people from other communities were welcome to visit Puja pandals, but Hindus had a responsibility to protect their religious traditions.
The VHP also appealed to organisers and visitors to avoid taking photographs of unfinished Durga idols.
Puja Committees to Discuss Suggestions
The VHP announced that it would give special non-monetary awards to priests and Puja committees that follow traditional religious practices.
Anjan Ukil, a functionary of the Forum for Durgotsav, said most Puja committees already follow established rituals. He said the VHP’s recommendations would be discussed at the forum’s next meeting.
The Forum for Durgotsav represents more than 10,000 Durga Puja committees in Kolkata and neighbouring areas.
