A day after UNESCO added Durga Puja in Kolkata to its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attempted to take credit for the historic feat.
While speaking to the media, Banerjee claimed, “I’m overwhelmed with the prize that I got yesterday. Durga Puja has been inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Heritage List. Some people, who said Mamata didn’t let people perform puja, should hide their faces…I want to make West Bengal number one in the world.”
The West Bengal Chief Minister insinuated that the listing of Durga Puja in UNESCO’s Intangible Heritage list was the result of her endeavour. However, nothing can be further from the truth. It was, in fact, the consequence of active pursuit by the Narendra Modi-led-government at the Centre. As per a report published by the Financial Express on April 3, 2019, the Modi government had nominated Durga Puja in Kolkata for UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) status for 2020.
“The nomination has been forwarded by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, which operates under the Union Ministry of Culture. Sangeet Natak Akademi has termed Durga Puja as the most important festival of West Bengal. It has said that apart from Kolkata, the festival is observed in several states and cities across India and even in a number of countries.” the report added.
It further stated, “…Durga Puja vividly manifests the amalgamation of religion and art in the city. One will get a detailed exhibition of the celebration of craftsmanship, cross-community revelry and cross-cultural transactions. These are the reasons why Sangeet Natak Akademi has nominated Durga Puja in Kolkata for UNESCO Heritage status for 2020.”
BJP lashes out at Mamata Banerjee
Union Minister For Culture, Tourism And Development Of North Eastern Region (DoNER) G Kishan Reddy refuted the claims of Mamata Banerjee on Twitter, and informed that it was the result of 2 years of hard work of the union culture ministry through the Sangeet Natak Akademi. He also credited the external affairs ministry and India’s Permanent Delegation to UNESCO for recognition.
'Durga Puja in Kolkata' has been inscribed by @UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
— G Kishan Reddy (@kishanreddybjp) December 17, 2021
This recognition is due to 2 years of hard-work of the @MinOfCultureGoI through @sangeetnatak.
I would also like to thank @MEAIndia & India's Permanent Delegation to UNESCO. https://t.co/39fZboYSvi
In a tweet, BJP IT Cell Head Amit Malviya informed, “No, Mamata Banerjee, you didn’t get the award. It is a recognition for India and (the) proud people of Bengal because of the proposal sent by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, an institution under the Modi government. You, on the contrary, did everything to destroy (the) Durga Puja festival…”
No, Mamata Banerjee, you didn’t get the award. It is a recognition for India and proud people of Bengal because of the proposal sent by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, an institution under the Modi government.
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) December 16, 2021
You, on the contrary, did everything to destroy Durga Puja festival… https://t.co/hGinJg1GSD pic.twitter.com/FKlZKGOIbm
He shared details of the Modi government’s initiative (as published by the Financial Express) and added, “Finally, on Dec 15, 2021, the UNESCO had accepted the proposal of Union Govt of India and included the Durga Puja in the UNESCO #IntangibleHeritage list.”
Mamata Banerjee had undermined Durga Puja for appeasement politics
In 2017, Mamata Banerjee had announced that there would be no idol immersion after 6 pm on Dashami day to make way for the observance of Muharram. Following the announcement, a PIL was filed in the Calcutta High Court which claimed that the announcement had hurt the religious sentiments of the majority community.
The Calcutta High Court drew parallels between West Bengal Police and Maharashtra Police in terms of handling festivals of different communities falling on the same day, which didn’t go down quite well with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. During the hearing, the judges asked how many Muharram procession requests were granted during the said period. It turned out that only two organisers had sought permission for the Taazia procession during Muharram.
No idol immersion after 6 pm on Dashami (Sept 30) till Oct 1 due to Muharram processions, immersion will resume from Oct 2: WB CM M Banerjee pic.twitter.com/VMVuTBRlyy
— ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2017
The Court found it surprising that for only two processions, the government had stalled the entire Durga Puja immersion ceremony. The TMC government had passed a similar order back in 2016 over Durga idol immersions. This order was not only flayed by Kolkata High Court, the language used by the court was quite extraordinary in that it specifically castigated the West Bengal government for “appeasing Muslims”.
