Burdwan University on Wednesday for the first time witnessed Ganesh Puja on the vice-chancellor’s office premises, sparking controversy over such a religious event being held inside an institution of higher education.

The puja was held on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi with much fanfare in front of the VC’s chamber.

According to sources, many varsity teachers and staff came to know about it only on Wednesday morning.

“The passage in front of the VC’s chamber was decorated, and a Ganesh idol was brought in. A priest conducted the rituals. Finally, the VC distributed ladoos to those who visited his office,” said a senior professor of the university.

The Burdwan University Teachers’ Association (BUTA) strongly objected to the event, calling it “unprecedented”, and demanded a clarification on whether money had been spent on the puja from the university’s contingency fund.

“It is unprecedented in the history of Burdwan University that a Ganesh Puja was organised by the VC, particularly on campus and, more significantly, in front of the VC’s chamber. We want to know who organised the puja and who funded it. Since the
event was organised on the university premises, all the staff should have been informed and invited. No one knew about it till this morning (Wednesday),” said Bhaskar Goswami, BUTA secretary.

Burdwan University VC Sankar Kumar Nath, however, argued that the puja was his personal initiative and not an official university event.

“I personally organised the puja, and it will be good if it is not considered as an event of the university,” Nath told The Telegraph.

Asked why he did not organise it outside the campus, Nath drew a comparison with Saraswati Puja, which he said was a staple of students at the university.

“Saraswati Puja is organised amid much fanfare at Burdwan University. There are 11 Saraswati Pujas organised by students of 11 hostels, and they compete with each other. Then, should we stop Saraswati Puja as well? In engineering institutions, they organise Vishwakarma Puja,” Nath argued.

Reminded that this was a puja at the VC’s office inside the university premises and couldn’t be personal, Nath said: “I won’t speak anymore on the issue.”

Goswami countered sharply, saying the varsity was not the VC’s personal property.

“The university premises are not the personal property of the VC. He cannot do whatever he wants. We heard the contingency fund was used to organise the puja. If that is true, it is a grave concern. We also want to know: after this initiative, will he allow religious programmes of any other faith on campus?” Goswami asked.

Academic and former Rabindra Bharati University vice-chancellor Pabitra Sarkar condemned the event, claiming it was held out of “fear”, not “devotion”.

“I am speechless after learning that Ganesh Puja was organised on a university campus. How could the administration allow this? I believe this reflects the growing trend of mixing politics with religion. More importantly, I think the puja was organised out of fear rather than devotion,” Sarkar said.

Burdwan University is a state-run varsity with the VC appointed by the governor. In recent times, the state government and governor C.V. Ananda Bose are not known to be on the same page on appointments.

Trinamool Congress president in East Burdwan, Rabindranath Chatterjee, said
he would report the matter to the state higher education department.

“We have no objection to anyone performing puja. But if it was a personal initiative, the VC should have organised it at his residence. Since it was held on the campus, we want to know if he took permission from the higher education department,” Chatterjee said.

The BJP’s East Burdwan president Abhijit Tah said: “I don’t know about the Ganesh Puja incident. I will inquire about it.”