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Mainstream, Vol 62 No 47, Nov 23, 2024

Durga Puja & R G Kar Agitation In West Bengal | Sujit Kumar Paul & Souradeep Sarkar

Saturday 23 November 2024

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Durga Puja is West Bengal’s most significant and cherished festival, celebrated with great enthusiasm and deep devotion. It honours Goddess Durga and her triumph over the demon Mahishasura, symbolising the victory of good over evil. Durga idols, especially those from Kumar Tuli in Kolkata, are crafted with meticulous attention to detail. Artistes use clay to create the divine forms, reflecting the craftsmanship of Bengal’s sculptors. Durga Puja is not just a religious festival but also a cultural extravaganza. Many pandals organise concerts, recitals, and plays, showcasing the rich cultural heritage of Bengal. It has also gained international recognition, and in 2021, it was inscribed on UNESCO’s intangible Cultural Heritage list.

DURGA PUJA IN West Bengal plays a significant socio-economic role, going beyond its religious and cultural significance. It is not only a celebration of faith and culture but also a major driver of the economy. The festival stimulates various sectors of the economy and fosters social cohesion, impacting both urban and rural communities. The months preceding the festival are the busiest work season for these artisans. The construction of elaborate pandals (temporary shrines) creates significant employment opportunities. Workers involve in carpentry, lighting, decorations, and theme-building benefit from the festival’s grand scale. Each pandal can cost millions of rupees, stimulating various industries like textile, craft, and design. Street vendors, food sellers, and artisans selling handicrafts or religious items see a significant surge in demand. Temporary markets and stalls spring up around pandals, generating income for many.

It sustains livelihoods, stimulates consumer spending, and promotes tourism, benefiting a wide range of sectors. Moreover, it plays an important role in community building, making it both a cultural and socio-economic event of national significance. Durga Puja is a peak season for shopping, especially for clothes, accessories, and household items. Durga Puja attracts tourists from all over India and abroad, eager to experience the grandeur of Kolkata’s famous pandals. This influx of visitors boosts the hospitality sector, including hotels, guesthouses, and transport services. Cultural enthusiasts visit West Bengal to witness the art, craft, and traditions associated with the festival. It is also the time when media houses see a surge in advertisement revenues as brands vie for attention. Many brands sponsor Durga Puja events, using the pandals as platforms for marketing and advertising.

In this Durga Puja, along with all the celebration, a series of protests occurred regarding the rape and killing of a student doctor at the R G Kar Medical College and hospital. On 9 August 2024, a 31-year-old post-graduate trainee doctor was found dead in semi-naked condition in a seminar hall on the fourth floor of this facility. The medical examination revealed the victim had sustained external and internal injuries in the sexual assault and was murdered. No FIR was filed for 14 hours.

Durga Puja in 2024 was marked just two months later, from 9 October to the 13th, just in time when the protests by junior doctors and the discerning public peaked. Countless people from all walks of life participate in this festival, making the festival a crucial source of livelihood for many. There is no doubt the rape-murder dimmed the festive spirit and the protests rang louder in the city than all the drumbeats for a female deity, militant enough to kill evil. Perhaps recognising this, the lady Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee urged junior Medical Officers and the public to end their protest. However, rather than halting, the doctors s escalated their protest with a hunger strike, gaining full support from the public. This led to a lot of gloominess during the Puja celebrations.

Soon after Mahalaya, a hunger strike began on 5 October, as a part of the healthcare sector protest, initially led by nine junior doctors – seven in Kolkata and two from North Bengal Medical College, several of whom were later hospitalised. More junior doctors joined the strike over time, and the movement garnered support from the public and many celebrities. Rather than visiting Durga Puja pandals, people began gathering at the hunger strike sites in solidarity.

On 9 October, police arrested nine individuals for chanting, ‘We want Justice’ at a Durga Puja pandal. The next day, the lower court placed them in judicial custody. In a special hearing on 11 October, the court granted bail with specific conditions. Efforts to resolve the situation through talks between government officials and representatives of the Doctors’ Association on 14 October were unsuccessful. The Indian Medical Association organised a 12-hour strike on October 15.

On 15 October, doctors declared a ‘droh carnival’, parallel to the Durga Puja carnival of the State government. The police blocked areas and imposed section 163, but a special bench of the Calcutta High Court which was constituted gave permission for the protest carnival. A doctor, who was on duty at the government carnival was taken by the police for protesting, just by wearing a batch written ‘We Want Justice’. Thus, throughout the Durga Puja festival, numerous protests took place across the State of West Bengal, which pitted the government against the people, not only against healthcare workers. The junior doctors’ primary demands included justice for the RG Kar Hospital victim, the immediate removal of Health Secretary N S Nigam, and improved workplace security, along with additional demands for a centralised hospital referral system, a bed vacancy monitoring system, and essential infrastructure like on-call rooms, CCTV, and proper washrooms.

When the State government remained unresponsive, junior doctors, after consulting with senior doctors, announced they would go on strike on 22 October, if their demands were not addressed. Following yet more protracted meetings with government officials and further discussions with the doctors’ forum, the protestors decided to end the hunger strike.

Social Relevance of the Protests

Durga Puja is a significant festival in West Bengal’s society. Before the festivities began, many experts predicted that the protests would subside, assuming people would move past the incident. However, demonstrations persisted State-wide throughout the celebrations. The government provides a financial grant to all registered clubs organising Durga Puja, with this year’s amount set at ?85,000. Some clubs, however, refused the grant in a symbolic act of protest.

The R G Kar was reflected in themes of many clubs. Symbolic spinal cords were put up in some pandals, but later removed, assumption is political powers forced their removal from public view. People got arrested for protesting and were given bail by the court as mentioned above. Many celebrities the general public sat in protest with the doctors and gave moral support to them.

Role of the State Government:

For much of the time, the State government remained silent on the issue, aiming to curb the protests through force rather than addressing the protesters’ demands. Both, the healthcare workers and the Government later expressed a willingness to hold discussions, but multiple meetings between government officials and the doctors’ association ultimately failed to reach a resolution.

The government didn’t take any step during the strike called by IMA. The police were criticised by the High Court when they arrested persons for raising slogans, ‘We Want Justice’ in Puja pandals. The police were also criticised when they imposed section 163 to stop the ‘droh carnival’. Leaders including e some MLAs of the ruling party criticised everyone who protestested, ignoring the horrendous crime and the criminality it involved. It was only after two weeks of unrest that the Chief Minister had a talk with the junior doctors on 19 October, through a phone, in the presence of State Secretary and Home Secretary. After this, a meeting was held between the Chief Minister and junior doctors in presence of government officials. It was only then that all the demands of the junior doctors were addressed.

The first demand was justice in the R G Kar case, which is now under CBI investigation. The second demand was removal of the State health secretary, however the government did not agree to this. The third demand was to beef up security in the hospital which was accepted by the government. The fourth demand was establishing a central referral system. The government said, it was already working for the establishing a central referral system. The fifth demand was monitoring the vacant beds in the hospital. This work is already going, the government said. The Sixth demand is constitution of a student union in the medical colleges. The government promised, to do this at the beginning of next year and till then, selected representative of the students will be in the committees. The seventh demand was filling up the vacant seats in the hospital. This has been agreed to by the government. The eighth demand was to take steps against those who promote culture of threat in the medical colleges. The nineth demand was reconstruction of the Medical Council, which the government did not agree to. The tenth demand was setting up CCTV cameras and panic buttons. The government said, this too was being done. According to the government, most of the demands of the protesting doctors have been met. Although the strikes have ended, healthcare workers are still concerned at the ‘threat culture’ in hospitals of West Bengal.

The R G Kar Medical College and Hospital incident has deeply impacted the minds of the common people. Especially, as the protests took place during Durga Puja and the festive season. The government attempted to suppress the protests through police intervention, and people are not likely to forget this. The junior doctors have clearly said, their hunger strike was not ended due to request of the government but due to the request by the Victim’s parents and common people. Though the strike has been called off, but the protest is on until justice is served, and the prevailing threat culture is stopped. Though the ruling party has a majority in the Legislative Assembly, it however fears, the R G Kar incident will impact the 2026 Assembly elections.

(Authors: Prof Dr. Sujit Kumar Paul: Professor of Rural Development & Management, Department of Lifelong Learning and Extension, Visva-Bharati (A Central University), Sriniketan – 731236, Birbhum, West Bengal
Email – skpaulrd[at]gmail.com; Souradeep Sarkar: Research Scholar, Department of Lifelong Learning and Extension, Visva-Bharati (A Central University), Sriniketan – 731236, Birbhum, West Bengal)

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