Subhas Mitra : 21 Oct 2023 ( Maha Saptami)
The future of DURGA PUJA has been disturbing me for the last 5-6 years since the time I was trying to read the cultural history of Bengal, between the lines. I find before the arrival of the British our literature was highly loaded with Islamic viewpoints due to Daw’ah. During the British, it was fully anglicized with Biblical inculturation. Congress inherited it and Smt. Indira Gandhi handed it over to communists, who have been running their agenda.
We need a new set of scholars to take up the cleaning job and rewrite our past from a genuine perspective.
Hinduism under the Pal dynasty might have not been better than in the Nehru and Jyoti Basu periods. Varnasharam and Marshal Attribute (Rajo Guna / Kshatria Tej ) became victims, that weakened the Hindu backbone.
Before Sen Dynasty could bring any sustainable reform in 164 years Islam entered without almost any resistance, worth mentioning.
Between 1203 AD to 1757 AD (Plassey Battle) all visible educational institutes, Hindu temples and Buddhist monasteries were destroyed, idol worshipping was banned and all non-Muslims became cultural orphans. Buddhists became Muslims, and Hindus adopted many hide & seek tactics like:
You dress like god if you cannot make their Murti (Idol). British told Hindus are Primitive and superstitious dressing like Ma Kali, Shiva, Krishna etc. in public places. Our English-speaking Bengali Hindus (Bindus) joined them.
If you cannot place Murti ” idol” place a clay plate ( shara) or Pot (Mangal Kalash) and perform rituals.
Pundits decided to Swiss to stone ( Shilagram/ Narayan shila) at their home Puja Griha.
If your public festivity with PUJA is banned Swiss to RAMAYANA or other Puranic stories as Dance drama – but never give up.
Swiss to Bhakti from Shivaites or Tantra and start Bhajan-Kirtan where no Murti(Idol) needed.
For nearly 200 years Hindus lived this way till Hussain Shah ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn gave some relaxation (1493–1519). Hindu literary activities resumed. Mahabharata was translated into Bengali, and Manashamangal / Padmapuran was composed.
Chutti Khan, the Muslim Governor of Chittagong (in Bangladesh) became fond of ASWAMEDHA Yogya and got Mahabharata translated into Bengali and named it “Chhutikhani Mahabharata” (c 1520 AD).
Ref: India Beyond Narratives, ISBN: 978-93-89984-65-1, Page -196.
A note:
Hindus never emphasize their regional linguistic identity (just as now prevails in the USA. No one bothers one’s language or state of birth or domicile. Our forefather never told Rishi Nagarjuna was a Gujarati, Mathematician Shridharachrya a Bengali etc.). “Bengali” identity for Bindus was initiated by Muslim rulers as Urdu was not manufactured and “Dravid” was created by the Church in the South, while central India did not fall in such identity for a very long time(1900 AD Hindi came to existence as independent language).
At the time of Hussain Shah, Bundius ware 65.5% in 2011 they were 31 (?)%. Today Pathan means only Muslim. When will Bengali mean only Muslim?
In Karnataka, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi slum, & Jammu, “Bengali”, means Bangladeshi Muslim at first impression.
Durga Puja:
Our scriptures suggest Sri Ram Chandra started Durga Puja but not in a Temple. The presence of Durga Temple in Varanasi, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha is very old if not ancient.
Idol worshipping was banned but some evidence suggests that Hindu Kings and shaudagars did the Durga Puja with SHARA & Mangal Ghat during Muslim rule. It is believed that the Tantric ritual associated with Durga Puja got diluted/compromised during those days.
However, Raja Narayan Ray Bahadur of Rajshahi (now in Bangladesh) had established a Temple and got the image made in 1480 AD (887 BS) on the ground to seek divine protection for himself and his subjects from the evil influence of demons. He Ungues Durga Puja was modern ASHWAMEDHA Yogya. Raja Sabarna Roy Choudhury of Kolkata started in 1610 AD.
Alas,” Lord Clive Puja” of 1757 AD (https://www.facebook.com/subhas.mitra.54/posts/pfbid0wnvi7o75BQU7sT87XDJ7waH2VPVLL1t5HwhnY8YTqsfMcZb2t1n8te2edtT8yeu6l ) could easily be said as onset of degradation and devaluation that brought it to its current manifestation into SHARADUTSAV instead of “Akal Bodhan” Durga Puja.
Why Bengal has distanced from Sri Ram and gone close to Sri Krishna:
A new set of scholars should find it out but it would be easy to assume that both Abrahamic scholars of Daw’ah and Inculturation could not find much fault in Sri Rama to establish their superiority in comparing with son or messenger of their God. But Sri Krishna’s relationship with other’s wife (Radha) and thousands of Gopiya as wives might have suited their agenda thus even Muslims sang Krishna songs ( Including abusive ones but Bindus do not have objections like Kalankini Radha( Characterless /disgraced ) & Kanu Haramjada ( Krishna the Bustard or Piglet) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr6yhttjN_8.
In West Bengal school text book a Muslim author writes Rama is an immigrant vagabond in India.
They composed satirical in the most insulting language and composed songs on Durga Puja and Bindus had no objection in glorifying them like “Ki Duggi dekhlamn chacha….(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_mtGU5hdPQ )
I had written on Durga Puja 2022 https://www.facebook.com/subhas.mitra.54/posts/pfbid02JCSK1Loom3E3WVWXv2Si3J7saSNW7qL3jcUu26p4HcXzKtPkcAwjCfUjLUHw8S2Ql
During October 2021:
and blog on Culture and identity
and Carnival
But still, my restlessness for not being able to convey my apprehension about the future of Durga Puja to BINDUS is not going.
Reasons:
TWO Bengali proverbs are disturbing me.
A cow that escaped from a burning ‘shed’ gets scared seeing ‘vermilion clouds’. ঘর পোড়া গরু সিঁদুরে মেঘ দেখলে ভয় পায়One whose tongue got burnt by ‘edible lime’ will refuse to eat curd/ yoghurt at first sight. চুন খেয়ে গাল পুড়লে দই দেখে ভয় পাযWest Bengal is almost NOTHING without Kolkata and in Kolkata started, Repeal of parts of Bengal Regulation XIX of 1810 ( THE 1[***] CHARITABLE ENDOWMENTS PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND ESCHEATS REGULATION,) and Madras Regulation VII of 1817.—[Rep. by the Repealing Act, 1870 (14 of 1870), sec. 1 and Sch.]. The protest took place in Varanasi.
This development was a consequence of many issues like:
Background :(( https://www.facebook.com/subhas.mitra.54/posts/4694958723881347))
1. In 1802, Peshwa Baji Rao II accepted a subsidiary alliance by signing the Treaty of Bassein
2. 1813 – The British crown decided the full conversion of Hindus to Christianity.
3. 1840 – they enacted the Religious Endowments Act to give better administration, Govt. helps to develop, maintain and improve Hindu temples and Mutts. (This was a manifestation of the 1810 Kolkata order for money collection from House rent that shifted to Hindu Temple money-sucking machine).
4. 1863 – This act was ratified /amended to include more temples.
5. The 1921, 1925 & 1947 amendments increased its grip over the entire India from what started in Madras.
6. This Govt. is not to judge our FIRST PM whether he cheated “Christians and Muslims” from Govt. welfare through “The Religious Endowments Act” which is extended ONLY to
HINDUS by enacting Articles 25 and 26 in the constitution. But then:
7. Ratifying the act in 1951, 1959, 1987, and 1997- why they took interest only in Hindus and not in MINORITIES. Is this not an injustice to Christians and Muslims?
Those who ratified till 1997 nurtured a class of Hindus who described Hinduism as Dengue, and HIV and burned Hindu scripture.
Yet they are expecting to form the next Govt. with a Hindu vote.
8. Alternately if minorities volunteer to avail the BENEFIT of the existing act then all Churches, Mosques, Waqhab Board and Gurdwaras ( after dissolving SGPC) should be allowed to join.
What is the Temple Act in India?
Image result for Hindu Religious Endowment Act in British India
The act’s objective was to provide for better governance and administration of certain Hindu religious endowments. The Government has the power to do so as per the Constitution. This Act was revamped in 1950 and made into articles 25, 26. Later Madras Hindu Religious Endowments Act 1951 was formed.
In 1925, the Madras Hindu Religious Endowments Act, 1923 (Act I of 1925) was passed by the local Legislature with the object of providing for better governance and administration of certain religious endowments. The Act divided temples into what are known as excepted and Non-excepted temples.
Outcome:
I developed doubt about whether Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams belongs to the ‘Andhra Catholic Org’ or the Vatican. Its HUNDI (Hindu donation) is alleged to be in use for Hindu conversion funding. They employ Christians; management is in the hands of Christians.
In Kerala Temples are with communists and Islamic Ola Uber is sung in Temple as Abrahamic are employed even as Hindu Priest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZHORUILVTo (Must See)
But BINDUS are very great they do not care about Obangali Bohiragoto( Non-Bengali- outsiders).
West Bengal Bindus are all suffering from Cardiomegaly (BIG HEART) they do not care if Kali Temple is given to Christian converting agents Tarakeswar is given under Muslim care or the Durga pedal is vandalized in Bangladesh.
They can do Ka Ka Ki Ki on the street to import Rohingyas and Illegal infiltrators. They are ashamed of calling DURGA PUJA so officially they are changing it to SARADUTSHAB (autumn festival).
Knowing very well that:
- Byzantine Goddess ‘Barbara’ from whom they coined “Barbarian “became ‘Santa Barbara for Catholicism. The Feast of Saint Barbara in Poland is called “Barbórka” and is the national holiday of coal miners who credit the Saint with watching over them when they go deep underground.
- St. Valentine was a Pagan priest in Rome during the reign of Emperor Claudius II, Roman emperor from 268 to 270.
- Constantine II | Byzantine, Son of Constantine, was a Roman emperor from 337 to 340. He was FIRST legal Christian, baptized on his deathbed. ( Britannica)
In West Bengal we can see an attempt to take over Durga Puja by Govt. which does not believe in Hinduism but only Hindu votes. By paying money for private Pujas rules are being formed for a very slow but decisive takeover.
Who knows when the restriction will come from Govt. to perform where, when and how they dictate? As of now Govt. started deciding when to do immersion, Bodhaon (initiation) etc. It is coming on the pretext of giving better
management and aid to Puja “CLUBs” (is it available for religious trust or Ashram?)
If Durga Puja has to wait for NAMAZ and Azan timings all five times and does the catwalk on Red Road how long it will remain a Hindu Ritual is a matter of concern.
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