West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari jolted a Kolkata gathering on Saturday with a stark warning: had West Bengal not been carved out as a separate homeland for Bengali Hindus, its people might today share the fate of Chinmoy Das, the Bangladeshi monk jailed for nearly two years on charges of disrespecting his country’s flag.

Key facts

  • Chinmoy Das, a Bangladeshi Hindu monk, jailed since October 2024
  • Granted 5-hour parole this week to attend his mother’s funeral
  • Adhikari spoke at Ganesh Puja inauguration in Kolkata on Sept 12, 2026
  • Accused previous Left Front and Trinamool governments of eroding traditions

A emotional parallel

Adhikari’s voice carried a mix of urgency and sorrow as he reflected on images of Das grieving beside his mother’s mortal remains during his brief parole. “The tears of Chinmoy Prabhu had moved ‘sanatanis’ across the world,” the Chief Minister said, grounding his political argument in raw human emotion. He credited historical figures Syama Prasad Mookerjee and Swami Pranavananda for ensuring Bengal’s place in India, suggesting their efforts spared local Hindus a similar plight.

Criticism of past regimes

Turning to his predecessors, Adhikari didn’t hold back. He accused the 34-year Left Front government of sidelining Hindu practices, noting how they referred to Durga Puja as “Sharadotsav” and promoted books by Karl Marx while works by Vivekananda or histories of Bengal’s creation went missing. Then he targeted the Trinamool Congress’s 15-year rule, alleging “Jamaatification” of West Bengal—citing instances where Durga Puja pandals were inaugurated during inauspicious Pitri-Paksha and immersion schedules altered to avoid Muharram.

“The former Chief Minister, whom I had defeated twice, had said at Netaji Indoor Stadium that immersion dates have coincided with Muharram and thus they will be changed. You cannot do that. Whatever has been written in the almanack should be followed.”

Promising a return to tradition

Amid the critiques, Adhikari offered a clear path forward. His government, he announced, will restore traditional calendars and practices: no community pujas before Mahalaya, and Ashtami observed as a dry day. It’s a pledge to reclaim cultural roots, framed not just as policy but as protection against what he sees as existential threats.