Eat biryani, but buy from Hindus: Row over posters in Bengal ahead of Durga Puja

Put up by the Hindu Jagran Manch, a local Hindu outfit, the posters have surfaced at multiple locations across the city, including the walls surrounding the Tarun Tirtha Club's Durga Puja grounds in Bharat Nagar. The location is particularly striking as the club's Puja venue is near the residence of state Tourism Minister and Siliguri MLA Shankar Ghosh.

In Short

• Hindu Jagran Manch says posters aim to promote Hindu unity
• Minister Shankar Ghosh says he does not know who put up the posters near his residence
• Former Siliguri mayors Ashok Bhattacharya and Gautam Deb criticise the campaign

Posters urging people to buy meat and biryani from Hindu-owned shops have appeared across West Bengal’s Siliguri ahead of Durga Puja, triggering a political controversy over religious identity, food choices and communal harmony in West Bengal.

Put up by the Hindu Jagran Manch, a local Hindu outfit, the posters have surfaced at multiple locations across the city, including the walls surrounding the Tarun Tirtha Club's Durga Puja grounds in Bharat Nagar. The location is particularly striking as the club's Puja venue is near the residence of state Tourism Minister and Siliguri MLA Shankar Ghosh.

One poster reads, “Buy meat from Hindu-owned shops," while another carries the message, “There is no ban on eating biryani. Eat biryani, but buy it from a Hindu-owned shop.”

Displayed outside a Durga Puja venue at the beginning of the festive season, the posters have drawn the attention of residents and passers-by, many of whom have stopped to read the messages. The campaign has also raised questions about the use of religious identity to influence consumer choices during a festival traditionally associated with Bengal's cultural and religious life.

HINDU JAGRAN MANCH SAYS AIM IS HINDU UNITY

Abhishek Das, a representative of the Hindu Jagran Manch, confirmed that the organisation had put up the posters and said the campaign was not restricted to Bharat Nagar.

“We put up these posters ourselves. It's not just Bharat Nagar; the posters are in front of various Puja pandals across the city. Through these posters, we at the Hindu Jagran Manch wanted to convey a message of Hindu unity,” Das said.

The messages specifically appeal to people to purchase meat and biryani from Hindu-owned businesses, linking an otherwise routine commercial choice to religious identity. The organisation has described the campaign as an effort to promote Hindu unity.

MINISTER SAYS HE DOES NOT KNOW WHO PUT UP POSTERS

Tourism Minister Shankar Ghosh distanced himself from the campaign, saying he was unaware of who had put up the posters outside the Puja venue near his residence.

“I don't know who put up these posters. Those who put them up are the ones who can say why they put up such posters,” Ghosh said.

His remarks came as the posters became a subject of political debate, with opposition leaders criticising the campaign and questioning its implications for West Bengal's tradition of religious coexistence.

ASHOK BHATTACHARYA SLAMS CAMPAIGN, TARGETS BJP AND RSS

Former Siliguri mayor and Left leader Ashok Bhattacharya strongly criticised the posters, accusing organisations associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of promoting religious divisions.

“Organisations like these are run by the RSS. The BJP is a party that follows the RSS's fascist policies. These parties spread hatred among people in the name of caste and religion,” Bhattacharya said.

Arguing that food choices should remain a matter of personal freedom, he said people should be free to decide what they eat and where they buy it, regardless of whether they are Bengali, Hindu, Muslim, Bihari or Marwari.

“We have never faced such despicable propaganda before. We are facing it now, and the BJP is behind it,” he said.

Bhattacharya also linked the campaign to the political climate in the state, alleging that the language used by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was emboldening organisations engaging in such activities. He urged the police to remove the posters, arguing that they threatened social harmony.

His allegations against the BJP and RSS were political claims and were not independently established by the material available for this report.

GAUTAM DEB CALLS POSTERS 'UNFORTUNATE'

Another former Siliguri mayor, Gautam Deb, also criticised the campaign, describing the posters as unfortunate in a state that upholds secularism and religious coexistence.

“Let the people judge. I find it somewhat amusing. Ours is a secular state. Putting up such posters right before the Puja, in disregard of that Constitution, is very unfortunate,” Deb said.

He argued that a campaign urging people to make purchasing decisions on religious grounds was incompatible with Bengal's tradition of communal harmony.

“This kind of campaign is never acceptable in a Bengal that stands for the harmony of all religions. The people of Bengal are politically aware; they will understand everything,” he said.

Deb added that the police should take appropriate action if the posters were found to be unconstitutional.

- Ends
(Inputs from Partha Pratim Das)