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Hindutva Objections to ‘Sharad Utsab’ Echo Western Culture Wars
Durga Puja is a major festival in West Bengal.
Some Hindu nationalist leaders want people to call it “Durga Puja,” not “sharad utsab,” which means “autumn festival.”
They say the other phrase makes the goddess seem less important.
The article’s writer says Bengali speakers have used “sharad utsab” for a long time, including before communism became influential.
The writer says the argument resembles a US debate about saying “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy Holidays.”
Hindu nationalist groups have also asked festival organizers to change some pandal themes and restrict meat nearby.
The writer explains that many people experience Durga Puja as both a religious event and a public cultural celebration.
The article argues that the dispute reflects a broader effort to make festivals more explicitly religious.
West Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari urged puja committees to reject stalls using “sharad utsab” instead of “Durga Puja.”
Historian Sanjeev Sanyal argued that using the term “autumn festival” secularises Durga Puja and sidelines the goddess.
The article says “sharad utsab” is a longstanding Bengali expression and notes that Rabindranath Tagore used it in a 1908 play.
Hindutva groups have also called for limits on pandal themes and meat near pandals, while the article describes a slump in idol orders.
The writer compares the dispute to the US “War on Christmas” and says Hindutva politics often borrows from Western conservatism.
- Who
- Suvendu Adhikari, Sanjeev Sanyal, Hindutva organisations, and Durga Puja organisers.
- What
- A dispute over calling Durga Puja “sharad utsab” or “autumn festival,” alongside demands concerning pandal themes and meat.
- Where
- West Bengal, particularly Kolkata.
- When
- Ahead of the upcoming Durga Puja; the article also refers to a 1908 Tagore play and Adhikari using the term in 2022.
- Why
- Adhikari and Sanyal object to what they view as secularisation of the festival; the article says the phrase is a longstanding Bengali synonym.
View presented by the article’s writer and critics
View of Hindutva advocates quoted
Meaning of “sharad utsab”
View presented by the article’s writer and critics
The term is a longstanding Bengali synonym for Durga Puja, not an attempt to secularise it; the article cites Tagore’s 1908 play and linguist Pabitra Sarkar’s view that “sharada” is another name for Durga.
View of Hindutva advocates quoted
Suvendu Adhikari and Sanjeev Sanyal object to the term, arguing that it replaces explicit reference to Durga and reflects the festival’s secularisation.
How the festival should be experienced
View presented by the article’s writer and critics
The article describes Kolkata’s Durga Puja as a public celebration combining religious and cultural elements, including artistic or political pandal themes.
View of Hindutva advocates quoted
Hindutva advocates want religion to have a more central role, and groups have called for restrictions on pandal themes and meat near pandals.
Key facts
- State
- West Bengal
- BJP leader quoted
- Suvendu Adhikari
- Historian quoted
- Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India
- Term under debate
- “Sharad utsab,” translated in the article as “autumn festival”
- Historical reference
- Rabindranath Tagore wrote a play titled “Sharad Ustab” in 1908, according to the article.
- Other demands described
- Hindutva figures and groups called for limiting pandal themes and restricting meat around pandals.
- Article’s comparison
- The US “War on Christmas” debate over “Merry Christmas” versus “Happy Holidays” or “season’s greetings.”
Quotes
Suvendu Adhikari
BJP leader and West Bengal opposition leader
“You people think of Sanatan Dharma as something cultural. You won’t say Durga Puja, you will say sharad utsab.”
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“Effectively, Ma Durga was being converted into a prop at the back for your selfie.”
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Sources
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