No non-veg near Durga Puja: Dhirendra Shastri's sermon raises Bengali Hindu storm

Days after the VHP issued an advisory to restrict non-vegetarian food near Durga Puja pandals, Bageshwar Dham chief Dhirendra Krishna Shastri delivered a similar sermon in West Bengal. Shastri's remarks triggered a storm among Bengali Hindus, including those who called themselves "Hindu nationalists".Days before Dhirendra Shastri made the remarks, West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari met the preacher at an event in Howrah. (Image: West Bengal CM Office)A call by Bageshwar Dham chief Dhirendra Krishna Shastri to keep non-vegetarian food away from Durga idols during the Puja has triggered a storm among Bengali Hindus, including those calling themselves "Hindu nationalists". Shastri, who was in West Bengal for a three-day Hanumant Katha in Howrah's Liluah, also urged Bengali Hindus to observe "Navratri and perform the rituals with utmost devotion and sincerity", regardless of whether they installed an idol.Shastri's "appeal" came days after the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), in an advisory to organisers in West Bengal, stated that non-vegetarian food should be kept away from Durga Puja pandals to "maintain the sanctity of the festival".Now, Shastri's appeal from Howrah, whom West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari also attended earlier, added fuel to the raging controversy sparked by the VHP last week."I am appealing to the Hindus of Bengal, that during Navratri, even if you don't keep the idols of the Goddess, do not sell non-veg near the idols," said Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, who heads the Bageshwar Dham in Madhya Pradesh's Chhatarpur district. Shastri's remarks attracted a variety of reaction — from serious objections and lessons on culture to biting humour. From former Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy to journalists and content creators, people from a diverse section, including those who described themselves as "Bengali Hindu nationalists", retaliated."Don't tell a Bengali how to celebrate Durga Puja pleaseeeeee," Kolkata-based content creator Shreyasi Biswas Banerjee wrote on Facebook. In the video attached, Biswas underlined that an "outsider" was prescribing rules for a festival embedded in Bengal's distinct religious and culinary traditions. Amid the controversy over Shastri's remarks, West Bengal BJP president Shamik Bhattacharya on Monday said he regarded the preacher as a "revered person" and had met him. But Bhattacharya stressed that the preacher's remarks on non-vegetarian food reflected "his personal view" and were not endorsed by the BJP, reported Anupam Mishra for India Today TV. "We Bengalis eat puri on Ashtami and mutton on Navami," Bhattacharya said.The BJP came to power in West Bengal for the first time in May. This will be the first Durga Puja in Bengal with the party in office.Durga Puja is West Bengal's biggest festival. 'Durga Puja in Kolkata' is part of UNESCO's 'Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity' list.Before the BJP's electoral victory, Opposition parties and critics had warned that a government led by the saffron party would seek to impose its own ideas on Bengal's culture and religious traditions. Eating non-vegetarian food had become a flashpoint before the Assembly polls, with the Trinamool Congress and its leader, Mamata Banerjee, trying to portray the BJP as an "outsider" that they claimed would "ban non-vegetarian food in the state".Then, the BJP used fish in its poll campaigns to prove they respected local food habits and culture. BJP candidates, including Sharadwat Mukherjee of Bidhannagar, walked door-to-door holding large catla fish. National and state-level BJP leaders, including Hamirpur (Himachal Pradesh) MP Anurag Thakur, were seen eating fish and rice (machh bhaat) at an event. This, too, triggered a row after Opposition leaders pointed out Thakur's saffron scarf during the meal.WHAT BAGESHWAR DHAM'S SHASTRI, VHP SAID ON NON-VEG FOOD IN DURGA PUJA?Dhirendra Krishna Shastri's remarks came on the concluding day of the Hanumant Katha, held at Liluah Workshop Ground from September 4 to 6. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had shared the stage with him on September 4 and encouraged him to "establish a Bageshwar Dham centre in West Bengal"."Baba Maharaj Ji, please open a centre here. There should also be a Bageshwar Dham centre. This is the land of saints and of spiritual awakening," Adhikari said on September 4.Just days later, came Shastri's sermon on the lines of the VHP's diktat."Non-vegetarian food should not be sold near Durga idols. We appeal to the Hindus of Bengal to ensure this during Navratri, whether or not they perform Durga Puja or install an idol. This Navratri, take a pledge to make West Bengal free from love jihad. Seek the darshan of Maa in the idol, but also see Maa in every woman," Shastri said on September 6.The VHP later clarified that its advisory was not a restriction on people's food choices. The VHP said it hadn't issued a "fatwa", and maintained that it neither sought a complete ban on non-vegetarian food nor intended to dictate what Bengalis ate during the festival.That clarification, however, did little to end the row. Now, following Dhirendra Krishna Shastri’s "appeal", Bengali Hindus have accused him of imposing a largely vegetarian Navratri template on Bengal's distinct Durga Puja traditions.Soumik Sarkar, who described himself as "Bengali Hindu nationalist", wrote on X urging the BJP to "stop shooting itself in the foot"."Who was this Bageshwar Baba... to judge the religiosity of Bengalis when Hindu traditions include both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food practices?" asked Sarkar. He warned that such remarks could help the Communists portray the BJP as hostile to Bengali culture. "Bengal does not need this Bageshwar Baba," Sarkar added.BENGALI HINDUS PUSH BACK WITH TRADITION, CULTURE EXPLANATIONSEven as Shastri faced criticism for his remarks, the dispute moved beyond whether meat should be sold "near an idol" to what critics saw as a bid to compress Bengal's Shakta traditions into a uniform, vegetarian model of Hindu worship.Former Governor Roy, who calls himself a "Right-wing Hindu thought leader" took to X and said he respected Bageshwar Dham's Dhirendra Shastri as a spiritual guru, but "whether I follow his advice or not is entirely up to me".Calling diversity "the hallmark of Hinduism", Roy rejected the idea that every aspect of his life should be controlled by "some book, guru or pir". He said he "ate fish and meat even during Navratri and owed nobody an explanation for it".A Kolkata-based journalist, Suman Sengupta, asked whether advocating vegetarianism was the reason behind "Bageswar Baba coming to Bengal". He sarcastically added, "Navratri In, Durga Puja Out!!!" Sengupta also questioned whether the controversy was anyhow linked to food-safety officials raiding non-vegetarian restaurants just before the Pujas.However, there is no evidence establishing such a connection. The reported raids are targeting rotten meat and unhygienic food preparation, the authorities said.Dublin-based content creator Soumik Ghoshal argued that although several Hindu rituals are performed with vegetarian food, "that has never been the only way Hindu traditions have been practised." Different communities, he said, offer hilsa, mutton and, in certain traditions, even alcohol during Durga Puja."So saying that there is one 'correct' way of doing a Hindu puja doesn't really make sense," Ghoshal wrote on Facebook. "There isn't one universal Hindu law governing every ritual." What mattered, he added, was whether religious practice taught respect and helped people become better human beings, rather than imposing rigid rules.Durga Puja practices differ between families, communities, regions and the socio-economic setting it's being performed in. Vegetarian bhog (aamish khichuri) is widespread, particularly at community pandals, but food items made of fish, meat and eggs are also sold on the pandal premises and outside it. Not just in West Bengal, such a practice has been prevalent in pandals in Delhi, Bihar, Assam and Tripura.Agnivo Niyogi, a Kolkata-based journalist with The Telegraph, shared an image on X with the caption: "Durga Puja at Ramakrishna Mission with fish and meat as bhog. We don't need fraudulent Babas to dictate how to celebrate our festivals."DHIRENDRA SHASTRI'S 'APPEAL' FACES FIRE, ALSO WITH MEMES, JOKES, REELSAn X handle named Extraaaa2ab, marked as a parody account, sarcastically thanked Shastri for rescuing a "Congressional and Communist brainwashed Bengali from centuries of his own culture." The person said that fish, mutton, chicken and eggs would be abandoned for a "pure, vegetarian, satvik way of life". He asked, "Who am I to question his superior knowledge of what Bengali Hindus should eat during our own Durga Puja?"A person on Reddit, Ethan J Hunt, asked, "Does a Bengali need to be taught how to celebrate Durga Puja?"Influencer Vaskar Manna imagined a Puja menu discussion with his friends in a Facebook Reel in which every traditional dish was replaced with paneer. Dal with fish-head, became dal with paneer heads. From Shashthi to Doshomi, he chalked out dishes from paneer malai curry, paneer paturi, paneer kosha and paneer biryani. His exaggerated menu ended with the punchline that "he would be better to consume poison than eat all that".Not everyone opposed Shastri's "appeal". A person on X, named Narendra Bharatiya argued that nobody had asked Bengalis to stop eating non-vegetarian food altogether. "It is being said only that non-veg food should not be sold around the pandal," he wrote. "Do we celebrate Durga Puja only to eat non-veg?" he asked.Now, the clash stems from the two readings of the appeals by Dhirendra Krishna Shastri and the VHP. One side sees them as limited requests to keep non-vegetarian food away from pandals. The other side is asking if the "outsiders" have the right to dictate what Bengalis eat during Durga Puja. They view the appeals as an attempt to impose a homogenised religious and culinary code on Bengal. With more than 40,000 community Pujas held across West Bengal, including around 3,000 in Kolkata, the debate is now touching on the ownership of one of Bengal's most defining cultural traditions.- Ends(With inputs from Anupam Mishra)Published By: Sushim MukulPublished On: Sep 7, 2026 15:17 IST