People attend religious parade in Ram Navami who participated in Siliguri, West Bengal on April 6, 2025 | Photo source: PTI
The Ram Navami march was organized throughout the length and breadth of West Bengal and was aggressive on Sunday (6 April 2025), and in some places some leaders of the Trinam Congress also organized and participated in such rallies.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other Hindutva groups organized hundreds of marches, with nearly every leader coming from opposition Suvendu Adhikari, state president Sukanta Majumdar, Dilip Ghosh and Locket Chatterjee, and other leadership participants everywhere.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was one of the first to congratulate Ram Navami people on social media on the morning of Sunday (6 April 2025). Ms. Banerjee posted on X: “I call on all to maintain and uphold the values of peace, prosperity and development. I hope to celebrate the success of Ram Navami in a peaceful way.”
Mr Adhikari unveiled a Ram temple on Nandigram in his constituency and said the Chief Minister should not remind people of “maintaining peace values” to Ram Navami.
Party Governor Kunal Ghosh’s Jorasanko Vivek Gupta’s Trinamool Congress MLA organized the Ram Navami march in the city. In Salkia in Howrah, Trinamool Congress MLA Gautam Chowdhury attended a rally organized by the Diocese of Hindu in Vishwa. Even in areas such as Jalpaiguri and Birbhum, Trinamool Congress leaders participated in the Ram Navami parade. Mr Kunal Ghosh said: “The Ram Navami march does not mean the BJP. Most Hindus oppose the BJP. Those who join the Ram Navami march do not support the BJP.”
The Ram Navami march is a cultural import in the state that coincides with the rise of Hindu politics in the state, which began in 2016. These parades have become the strength of the BJP. On Sunday (6 April 2025), while the BJP leadership and its allies did not hesitate to pull their support base through the Ram Navami march, the Trinamool leaders tried to compete with the Hindutva troops.
Friendly scene
There are some signs of public friendship in the competitive Ram Navami rally, where Muslims stepped up and showered with petals to provide food, drinks for those attending the Ram Ram Navami parade. See Malda Northern BJP MP Khagen Murmu exchanges greetings with Muslims who welcome the parade. This is in stark contrast to early developments, where Ram Navami marches often cause violence.
In 2024, a rough bomb explosion occurred in Shaktipur area of Murshidabad area during the Ram Navami parade. Prior to this, violence broke out in Shibpur in Howrah and Shibpur and Rishra in Howrah in Dalkhola in North Bangladesh during the Ram Navami parade.
Trinamool’s official X-processing Trinamool Congress highlighted the testimony of Bangladesh celebrating solidarity and brotherhood on the occasion of Ram Navami, describing it as the vision of the Chief Minister.
Ram Navami’s parade also witnessed young people waving their weapons throughout the state. The participants of the parade were seen holding triangles, knives, swords, shafts and machetes in Surry, Balasat, Hora, Kankinara and Berhanpur. Videos aired by local TV channels and circulated on social media show minors waving their weapons.
Political observers and social scientists say the number of Ram Navami parades in 2025 is higher than in previous years. From Singur in the Hooghly region to Naxalbari in the Darjeeling region, a large-scale Ram Navami parade was observed, and in the past few years, the Hindutva Politics did not leave much imprints in the area. At Jadavpur University, considered home to the politics of left-wing students, some students organized Ram Navami celebrations and worshiped Lord Ram’s idol.
Subha Protim Roy Chaudhury, associated with an organization Amra, has been studying the organization that has been studying conflicts during the past few years, and he said the Ram Navami parade is this year even in villages like Malda and Murshidabad. Mr Roy Choudhury said the parade would not end in one day and would continue throughout the month, and reached the Jagannath Temple of Digha with the Chief Minister.
publishing – April 6, 2025 08:55 IST
