Why does Hindutva hate Durga Puja being called the ‘autumn festival’?

What are Durga Puja and “sharad utsab,” and why can the latter be used as another name for the festival?

Durga Puja is the festival devoted to goddess Durga, celebrated publicly in West Bengal through worship, idols, pandals, art, and community events. “Sharad utsab” literally means an autumn festival. In Bengali, it can function as a more literary or formal synonym for Durga Puja rather than a secular replacement for it.

The article gives two important clues. Tagore wrote a 1908 play called Sharad Ustab, showing the phrase existed before communism entered India. Academic and linguist Pabitra Sarkar also argued that “sharada” was another name for Durga. Suvendu Adhikari himself used the term in a 2022 Durga Puja greeting.

The current dispute comes from Hindutva supporters who believe the phrase hides the festival’s religious identity. The article argues that ordinary Bengali usage does not support that interpretation. Instead, the controversy resembles a political attempt to make religious language more explicit, even when the alternative term has longstanding cultural and linguistic roots.

What exactly did BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari ask Durga Puja committees to stop doing?

Suvendu Adhikari asked Durga Puja committees to stop allowing stalls that used the terms “sharad utsab” or “autumn festival” instead of “Durga puja.” His demand targeted the wording used around the festival, not merely its ceremonies or decorations.

Speaking in the West Bengal Assembly, Adhikari said people treated Sanatan Dharma as something cultural and accused them of avoiding the words “Durga Puja.” He specifically singled out the Communists. He then said they were ready to “go to war” to remove what he called this poison, receiving loud cheers from the treasury benches.

The request reflects a larger Hindutva effort to make the festival more explicitly religious. The article links it to demands for narrower pandal themes and restrictions on meat near pandals. It also notes that Adhikari had used “sharad utsab” himself in a 2022 greeting, making the demand especially notable.

How large and socially important is Durga Puja in Kolkata, beyond its religious rituals?

Durga Puja in Kolkata reaches beyond worship because it combines religious and cultural strands in one public celebration. The article describes it as a mass festival whose pandals have become sites of art, cultural expression, and sometimes politics. That makes the festival part of the city’s shared public life, not simply a private religious observance.

Over recent decades, organisers have used pandals to present creative themes. People also experience the festival through social activities, food, and photographs. Sanjeev Sanyal’s criticism of “selfies” shows that public display and personal participation are now part of the debate over what the festival means.

This broad social role explains why proposed restrictions matter. Hindutva organisations want the focus shifted toward religion, including limits on themes and meat around pandals. Whether that succeeds remains uncertain. The article compares this mixed format with Eid and Christmas celebrations, where religious practice also includes new clothes, photographs, and public celebration.

What changes could result from efforts to make the festival more explicitly religious, such as restricting pandal themes or banning meat near them?

Efforts to make Durga Puja more explicitly religious could narrow the festival’s public character. Pandal organisers might choose fewer cultural or political themes, while religious imagery and solemn observance would receive greater emphasis. Meat could also be restricted around pandals in the name of sanctity and cleanliness.

The article gives concrete examples. Adhikari and Hindutva organisations demanded limits on pandal themes, and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad asked committees to ban meat around pandals. These demands work by controlling both the festival’s visual content and the behaviour permitted in its surrounding public space.

The immediate effect is already visible in the article’s reported slump in idol orders. The longer-term outcome is unclear. Durga Puja traditionally combines worship, art, culture, politics, food, and social life. If religious restrictions expand, that balance could shift, though the article says whether the effort succeeds remains to be seen.

How has Durga Puja historically combined worship with art, public celebration, cultural themes, and politics?

Historically, Durga Puja has not been limited to ritual worship. In Kolkata, the festival’s pandals became public spaces for artistic presentation, cultural themes, and sometimes political expression. The celebration therefore developed as a mixture of religion and wider social life rather than as a strictly solemn ceremony.

The article also points to language and literature. “Sharad utsab” existed in Bengali before communism, and Tagore wrote a play with that title in 1908. Such references show that the festival has long had cultural forms alongside its religious identity. Today, pandals continue that tradition by presenting creative themes, while visitors participate through public celebration and photographs.

Hindutva supporters now want to shift this balance toward religion. They have criticised secular language, requested limits on themes, and supported restrictions on meat near pandals. The article does not say this transformation will succeed. It presents the outcome as uncertain because the festival’s mixed religious and cultural character remains deeply established.

Why do Hindutva supporters describe terms such as “sharad utsab” as secularisation, and what does Hindutva mean by that concern?

Hindutva supporters use “secularisation” to describe what they see as the removal of explicit Hindu religious identity from public festivals. In their view, saying “sharad utsab” instead of “Durga Puja” turns a celebration devoted to goddess Durga into a broad cultural or seasonal event.

Sanjeev Sanyal called this a “steady secularisation” and said Durga was being reduced to a prop behind a selfie. Adhikari similarly accused people of treating Sanatan Dharma as culture and objected to avoiding the words “Durga Puja.” Their concern therefore covers language, photography, food, and artistic themes, not just the festival’s formal rituals.

The article challenges the historical basis of this argument. “Sharad utsab” is an old Bengali phrase, and “sharada” can refer to Durga. The controversy reflects a conservative religious movement seeking a larger role for solemn religion, while Durga Puja continues to combine religious and cultural strands.

How do culture-war arguments about “Durga Puja” versus “autumn festival” resemble the American argument over “Merry Christmas” versus “Happy Holidays”?

The two culture wars share the same basic argument. Religious conservatives treat a general phrase as evidence that a faith’s specific identity is being erased. In the Bengali case, “sharad utsab” is portrayed as replacing “Durga Puja.” In the United States, “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings” was portrayed as replacing “Merry Christmas.”

The article says the American dispute emerged in the early 2000s. Conservative commentators such as Bill O’Reilly described a so-called War on Christmas, while Donald Trump later claimed he was fighting an “assault” on “Merry Christmas.” The Bengali debate uses a similar contrast between explicit religious language and broader seasonal language.

The comparison matters because both arguments can influence public behaviour and politics even when the allegedly secular phrase has a normal cultural use. The article says “sharad utsab” is an old Bengali synonym, just as the American dispute involved common greetings. Hindutva is therefore borrowing a familiar conservative culture-war pattern.

Key Facts:

📌 “Sharad utsab” is a Bengali synonym for Durga Puja.

📌 Tagore wrote a 1908 play called Sharad Ustab.

📌 “Sharada” can be another name for goddess Durga.

📌 Adhikari opposed stalls using “sharad utsab” or “autumn festival.”

📌 He made the request while speaking in the West Bengal Assembly.

📌 Adhikari had used “sharad utsab” in a 2022 greeting.

📌 Kolkata’s pandals have become sites of art and cultural themes.