oppn parties Muted Puja Celebrations After High Court Order

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  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
oppn parties
Muted Puja Celebrations After High Court Order

By Linus Garg
First publised on 2020-10-21 14:46:55

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.

The Calcutta High Court has dampened the Pujo spirit in West Bengal after the TMC government had allowed  (even supported community pujas by giving Rs 50000 to selected Pujo committee) community Pujas after imposing certain conditions in view of the pandemic. But the High Court has now decreed that no one, apart from the organizers, will be allowed to enter the Puja pandals. It has ordered for barricading 10 metres away for big Pujas and 5 metres for smaller Pujas. This will rob the devotees of the usual charm of worshipping the deities from close quarters but in these troubled times, perhaps this is as it should be to prevent overcrowding and the risk of the virus spreading at a breakneck speed.

West Bengal, like most parts of the country, has shown signs of having suppressed the spread of the virus. But festivities are occasions when health advisories and precautions are usually thrown to the winds by revelers. Hence, a note of caution was necessary and the High Court has done its bit. It may sound too harsh to some but those who have experienced the jostling that goes on inside Puja pandals will agree with the court that there perhaps was no other way.

The Puja committees will also have to make adjustments in their pandals as the usual practice is to keep the idols away from public eye. One had to enter the pandal to view the idols. With the High Court order not allowing people to enter the pandals, the idols will have to be so placed that the crowd can view them from 10 metres away. For this, the pandals will have to be open, as the West Bengal government had demanded earlier,  or at least the gates will have to be widened.

There is expected to be a lot lesser crowd in Kolkata this year mainly due to the fact that the suburban trains are not running. The crowd in Kolkata largely comprises of people coming in from the districts and one can expect not more than 30 percent of the crowd seen in previous years as many Kolkatans will also think twice before venturing out due to the continuing health scare.

Organizers are making full use of technology to introduce live streaming of aartis and virtual tours of pandals, the lighting and the decorations. But that will not make amends for the thrill of going pandal hopping with relatives and friends. The crowd, which in previous years added to the festivities, has become a stumbling block this year due to the coronavirus scare. Hopefully, Ma Durga will slay the coronavirus demon by Pujo 2021 and things will return to normal. This year, devotees will have to make do with muted celebrations. 

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