Bengal: VHP asks Durga Puja organisers to ban meat inside pandals

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has urged Durga Puja organisers in West Bengal to follow “traditional” religious practices, including keeping meat outside puja pandals, India Today reported on Wednesday.

It clarified that it was not asking for organisers to adopt an exclusively vegetarian approach, but suggested that “non-vegetarian” food stalls be kept in designated areas outside pandals.

“We are not unaware of Bengal’s culture or food habits,” Nirgunananda, a member of the VHP’s central advisory council, said. “Durga Puja in Bengal has never been synonymous with an exclusively vegetarian way of life.”

He claimed that the VHP’s concern was to keep the area around the deity “clean” and uphold the “sanctity and cleanliness” of the space immediately surrounding it.

“Non-vegetarian food can be sold at designated places, but its leftovers must not find their way into the pandal or contaminate the area around the deity,” he added.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad is a part of a group of Hindutva organisations led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parent organisation of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

The Hindutva organisation has also warned that it could “intervene” if committees do not comply with its suggestions.

The VHP also criticised the slogan “Dharmo jarr jarr, utsob sobar”, meaning “religion is personal, festival universal”, which was widely associated with former West Bengal Chief Minister...

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