📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Ganesh Puja Committee
Politics
Ganesh Puja Pandals in West Bengal Turn Political, Spotlight RG Kar Protests and Sanatani Dharma
✍️ Bhaskar English
🗓 14 Sep 2026, 11:15 AM
👁 5
Ganesh puja celebrations across West Bengal this year featured pandals adorned with political slogans, highlighting recent RG Kar protests and calls for Sanatani Dharma.
The annual Ganesh puja in West Bengal has taken on a distinctly political hue, with several city and town pandals displaying banners and decorations that reference current political debates. Organisers of the pandals have used the festive platform to convey messages that go beyond traditional religious motifs.
Among the most conspicuous themes is the reference to the recent protests against former West Bengal minister R.G. Kar, whose policies have sparked public dissent. Some pandals have incorporated slogans and imagery that echo the sentiments of those demonstrations, effectively turning the celebration into a visual commentary on the controversy.
Another prominent narrative promoted in the pandals is the call for a return to "Sanatani Dharma," a phrase used by certain cultural groups to emphasize a perceived pure form of Hindu tradition. This motif appears in the form of devotional symbols and textual excerpts that align the festival with broader cultural revivalism.
Local authorities have noted the political undertones but have not intervened, citing freedom of expression during cultural events. Observers say the trend reflects a growing intertwining of religious festivities with political discourse in the state.
Among the most conspicuous themes is the reference to the recent protests against former West Bengal minister R.G. Kar, whose policies have sparked public dissent. Some pandals have incorporated slogans and imagery that echo the sentiments of those demonstrations, effectively turning the celebration into a visual commentary on the controversy.
Another prominent narrative promoted in the pandals is the call for a return to "Sanatani Dharma," a phrase used by certain cultural groups to emphasize a perceived pure form of Hindu tradition. This motif appears in the form of devotional symbols and textual excerpts that align the festival with broader cultural revivalism.
Local authorities have noted the political undertones but have not intervened, citing freedom of expression during cultural events. Observers say the trend reflects a growing intertwining of religious festivities with political discourse in the state.