On December 7, the Sanatan Sanskriti Sansad organised a mass Gita recitation programme at Kolkata’s historic Brigade Parade Ground, claiming participation of five lakh voices. Many of the biggest faces of Hindutva politics were present. Although it was projected as a purely religious event, almost all senior BJP leaders from Bengal attended. Whether they sincerely recited the Gita or not is debatable, but their presence made it clear that the programme was far more political than religious.
Among those present at the ground that day was Riyajul Sheikh from Arambagh. Like he does at many large gatherings, Riyajul arrived early with his tin box, selling veg patties on one side and chicken patties on the other. He hoped for good sales at such a massive event. What he could not have imagined was that the Gita recitation would fade into the background and that he—and his chicken patties—would become the centre of a heated controversy.
When a Religious Gathering Becomes a Political Stage
The way Riyajul and another chicken patty seller were harassed by a section of self-proclaimed “Hindu defenders” was something Bengal had never witnessed before. While the rest of the country has sadly become accustomed to such incidents, seeing this happen in Bengal felt unimaginable. Over the past decade, whenever minorities have been attacked outside Bengal for selling meat, people here would often say, “This is nothing new.” Bengal has had occasional debates over vegetarian-only rules during Hindu festivals or in housing complexes, but nothing like this. Surveys show that nearly 98 per cent of Bengalis consume non-vegetarian food. It is therefore important to ask whose sentiments were really hurt by a chicken patty—and why—especially when many of the attackers themselves may consume meat privately.
Some may frame this as a debate on cultural pluralism or personal food choices. But the issue is no longer that simple. Those who believe that eating meat makes someone “impure” are not driven by religious sentiment alone; this is about political authority. Radical Hindutva politics does not believe in pluralism. Over the past 11 years, Narendra Modi’s India has repeatedly shown how personal offence is used to justify violence against others. Bengal had so far resisted this trend. The incident at Brigade suggests that even Bengal is slowly being pulled into this model, raising fears that attacks over meat-selling could become routine here as well.
Food, Faith and the New Lines of Exclusion
If the matter had ended with just the assault on Riyajul, it would still have been serious—but it did not. Since Bengal has not fully embraced Hindutva politics yet, there was some opposition to the incident, mostly limited to statements and social media. A CPI(M) lawyer even filed an FIR. By then, the identities of the attackers were known, yet it remains unclear why a firm FIR was not filed against them. Kolkata Police acted swiftly, arresting the accused late at night. However, within two days, the accused were produced in court, where a large number of lawyers appeared to seek their bail. The police failed to keep them in custody even for 24 hours.
In the aftermath, BJP leaders offered conflicting statements. While some tried to justify the attackers, others admitted that the incident exposed the party’s anti-Bengali character and harmed its image. Some observers even suspected an understanding between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP after the accused got bail. But what followed exposed an even more disturbing reality.
From Assault to Applause: Normalising Political Impunity
Soon after securing bail, the attackers were publicly garlanded and felicitated by Bengal’s Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, as if they had achieved something commendable. The scene immediately recalled a 2018 incident in Jharkhand, where then Union minister Jayant Sinha welcomed and honoured eight men convicted in the lynching of Alimuddin Ansari. Those men had beaten Ansari to death on suspicion of cow slaughter. Ironically, on the same day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that killing in the name of cow protection was unacceptable.
Jayant Sinha had claimed he supported the convicts because he believed there was “no proof” they had killed anyone, despite their conviction. His actions were widely condemned. Leaders across the political spectrum, including Rahul Gandhi and Dipankar Bhattacharya, criticised him strongly, accusing the BJP of fuelling communal polarisation.
Today, when a poor patty seller is attacked at a Gita recitation in Bengal, the accused are released due to “lack of evidence” and then publicly honoured, serious questions arise. Why is there no strong condemnation from civil society or political leaders now? Has selling meat—or even chicken patties—become illegal in Bengal? Or has beating minorities become an undeclared rule?
This is no longer just a political issue. It cannot be resolved through legal battles alone. It has become a deep social problem, and that is why Suvendu Adhikari’s actions must be criticised. But criticism alone is not enough. The vegetarian–non-vegetarian debate must be taken to society at large. People must be made to understand that the BJP and RSS seek to impose uniformity, while India’s constitutional spirit is rooted in pluralism.
This piece was first published in Bangla.
