Several Durga Puja pandals in Bangladesh have triggered the Bangladesh government by displaying Mahishasur with beards. The government has termed this as an attempt to incite communal tension in the country. A total of 793 Durga Puja pandals across the nation have been marked across the country for investigation, and several individuals have been identified by the government for the purpose of taking legal action.
Bearded Mahishasur a fascist conspiracy: Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury
Home Affairs Advisor Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said on Sunday (5th October) that a General Diary (GD) entry has been filed with the police regarding the matter. He said that those responsible depicting Mahishasur with beard are being identified and they will face legal action. Chowdhury described the Durga Puja pandals having bearded Mahishasur idols with an alleged conspiracy of “fascists” to create unrest in the country. “The fascists and their associates attempted to provoke communal unrest by attaching beards to demon idols,” Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Chowdhury said, addressing the media following a meeting of the Law and Order Core Committee at the Ministry of Home Affairs. “Some so-called fascist intellectuals encouraged this act. But their conspiracy has failed. Durga Puja has once again been celebrated peacefully, safely, and festively across the country,” he added.
Chowdhury linked the reports of a Durga Puja pandal in West Bengal, India, showing Mahishasur resembling Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, with Bangladesh’s Durga Puja pandals showing bearded Mahishasur. “The act of adding beards to demon faces here appears linked to that incident. But due to law enforcement vigilance and cooperation from local Puja committees, this plot was foiled,” he said.
As per reports, a total of 33,355 Durga Pujas were held in Bangladesh, out of which 793 have been identified for investigation over bearded demon. It is being claimed that with the beards, the Asura king was made to look like a Muslim, resulting in the allegations of provoking communal unrest.
Kushtia district administration ordered removal of beards from Mahishasur idols
The images of a Mahishasur idol said to have been displayed in a Durga Puja pandal in Kushtia, Bangladesh, went viral on social media. Amid the concerns of Durga Puja pandals displaying bearded Mahishasur idols, the Central Puja Announcement Council reportedly called for the removal of demons’ beards from the Mahishasur idols to avoid communal tension. Following the council’s statement, a decision was taken by the district administration to remove the beards from the faces of Mahishasur idols in 39 Durga Puja pandals in Kushtia. The district administration, police administration, and the local Puja Announcement Council jointly implemented this decision.
In many pandals, the face of the demon king being slayed by Goddess Durga was covered with cloths to hide the beard. In some cases, the beard was cut or removed to not offend the Muslims.
Denying any conspiracy behind the bearded Mahishasur idols, District Puja Udjavan Morcha convenor Devesh Chandra Biswas termed the beard as the artist’s expression. “The beards and moustaches on the faces of demons are a figment of the artist’s imagination. Many sages and saints in Hindu scriptures sported beards. Beards on the faces of demons are nothing new. Rather, someone deliberately made this issue controversial to disrupt social harmony,” Biswas reportedly wrote in a Facebook post, which was deleted later.
