West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee got a rap on her knuckles Thursday from the Calcutta High Court, which overruled her ban on the immersion of Durga idols after 10 pm on September 30 (Vijaya Dashami day) and on October 1 on account of Muharram. Ruling on three petitions which challenged the restrictions on the immersion of idols at the end of the five-day Durga Puja, which coincides with Muharram this year, the court said that a state “cannot hinder a citizen’s right to practice religion assuming that there will be law and order problems ... Let them (Hindus and Muslims) live in harmony, do not create a line between them.”
Justifying the restrictions, Mamata had claimed, “Some people will try to create trouble on Hindu-Muslim grounds. Every religion is ours. But if there is a problem while a procession is passing a puja pandal, we will all be affected.” The court ruled that while the state had the right to regulate on tangible grounds, it could not trample on religious rights.
Citing her own repeated remarks that the two communities lived in perfect harmony in the state, the court observed during the hearings: “If you say there is complete harmony, are you not creating a line of division between the two communities by your action?” Rejecting the state’s argument that the decision was taken to avoid communal clashes, the court said, “We are asking you to eliminate the element of arbitrariness and provide a concrete ground for your action.”
Perhaps Mamata has been given intelligence inputs suggesting that attempts might be made to create communal discord during this period by the BJP and the RSS, which have been making inroads in the urban areas recently.
There were a few violent clashes last year during a similar overlap of Tazias and Durga immersion processions. But why did the administration not cite that as a justification for the ban? The more critical question is: Is Bengal so polarised that the two communities cannot even celebrate or mourn together?