Kolkata Janmashtami Festival to be Run Exclusively by Hindus After Decades of Muslim Participation

In Kolkata's Ward 79, the long-standing Janmashtami celebration is set to become a Hindu-only event after former BJP candidate Rakesh Singh declared that only Hindus will run the festivities this year. Singh, who previously served as a Congress-linked trade-union leader, cited Vishwa Hindu Parishad teachings that festivals belong to the faith of their origin. The celebration, now in its 58th year, was originally started by Muslim social worker Md Kashim and was later revived by a mixed committee of about twenty members, half of whom were Muslims, following the Trinamool government's rise in 2011.

Prominent local figures such as former mayor Firhad Hakim have supported the event in the past. Singh, claiming both president and chair of the organising committee, said the change is needed to protect traditional culture, while VHP recently issued guidelines urging festival organizers to avoid altering deity images and to ban non-vegetarian food in core areas. According to a Trinamool functionary, the Muslim presence on the committee has been completely excluded this year, prompting remarks that the shift resembles a "cleansing" of the event.