Saturday, 26 April 2025
Saturday, 26 April 2025
Ram Navami celebrations in West Bengal featured several high-profile rallies and events across the state on Sunday, amid heightened security and concerns of potential unrest, as leaders from both the BJP and TMC took part in the festivities.
In a significant development ahead of next year's assembly polls, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari laid the foundation stone of a Ram temple in Nandigram's Sonachura village in Purba Medinipur district.
A total of around 2,500 Ram Navami rallies are scheduled to be organised across West Bengal, with over 6,000 police personnel deployed to maintain law and order.
Celebrations to mark Ram Navami commenced since Sunday morning with vibrant processions, chanting of 'Jai Shri Ram' and fervent religious displays, as devotees thronged the streets with saffron flags, devotional music and tableaux depicting scenes from the Ramayana.
The political undertones of this year’s Ram Navami celebrations, just a year ahead of the 2026 assembly polls, were evident as the BJP and TMC mobilised a large number of people.
Draped in saffron, Adhikari led a procession to the temple site in Sonachura, where he laid the foundation amid slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram.’ The location of the temple is of historical importance, as it is near the site of the 2007 anti-land acquisition protests in which several people were killed in firing by miscreants.
BJP MP Sukanta Majumdar joined the ‘Anjani Putra Sena’ rally at Shibpur in Howrah, while his colleague Saumitra Khan displayed his ‘Lathi Khela’ (stick drill) skills at a Ram Navami procession in Bankura. In North Howrah, TMC councillor Gautam Chowdhury participated in a rally organised by the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) in Salkia.
In New Town near Kolkata, BJP leader Locket Chatterjee was involved in a verbal spat with the police, which had stopped the rally with barricades and wanted the route to be changed.
Despite the standoff, Chatterjee attempted to move ahead on her own, with BJP leader Arjun Singh also present at the site. The rally near Keshtopur was similarly halted, but she persisted in trying to continue the procession.
Meanwhile, TMC MLA Shaukat Molla joined a Ram Navami rally in Bhangar, and ABVP supporters organised a Ram puja at Jadavpur University’s technology building, despite the varsity authorities having turned down permission for it.
Communal harmony in Malda
In Malda, Muslims distributed sweets and water bottles at a rally, with participants offering flowers, highlighting the spirit of communal harmony. In the northern part of the state, rallies continued in different districts, with VHP taking out a Ram Navami procession in Cooch Behar.
In Islampur, Raiganj, BJP leader Kartik Pal led a rally that resumed after police lifted barricades set up earlier when Pal had staged a sit-in.
Over 60 rallies have been planned in Kolkata alone, prompting massive police deployment. Authorities are also taking help of drones and CCTVs to monitor the events, and quick response teams have been stationed at sensitive locations.
Police personnel have been closely watching live footage of the rallies from the Kolkata Police headquarters at Lalbazar.
State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said, “The celebrations should be peaceful, and any attempts to disturb the processions will not be tolerated. Ram Navami will be celebrated across the state, no matter the efforts to stop it.” The Bengal BJP has claimed that over 1.5 crore Hindus will join the celebrations this year, and more than 2,000 rallies have been planned across the state.
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh, however, said that the BJP is trying to consolidate Hindu votes through these celebrations, “which have now been politicised”.
“They are trying to create disturbances,” Ghosh alleged.
Meanwhile, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and other Hindutva organisations, including the VHP and Hindu Jagaran Manch, have also mobilised supporters for the processions, with the RSS reportedly aiming to engage over 3 crore participants in the celebrations throughout the week.
At Jadavpur University in Kolkata, students owing allegiance to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) defied varsity authorities to organise Ram Navami celebrations inside the campus.
ABVP students set up a makeshift podium with a clay idol of Lord Ram and conducted a prayer ceremony on the campus.
The state administration has taken a host of measures to avoid any incidence of violence, with police sources confirming intelligence reports of potential disturbances during the rallies.
The heightened security is aimed at ensuring the celebrations remain peaceful, as the state witnessed communal flare-ups in previous years.
The backdrop of this year’s Ram Navami includes recent incidents of violence against Hindus in neighbouring Bangladesh and the run-up to the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections, making the celebrations politically charged.
What has traditionally been a religious occasion has now emerged as a significant flashpoint in the ongoing tussle between the BJP and the TMC, with both parties accusing each other of trying to use religion for political gains.
