Joydeep Sarkar 
Sagardighi (Murshidabad): Last week, at the Sagardighi area of Murshidabad district in Bengal, a little known outfit held rituals for the construction of a Ram temple. Murshidabad has a close to 67% minority population.
This Republic Day, Kartik Maharaj, a spiritual leader accused of instigating communal tension in the same district was awarded the Padma Shri by the Narendra Modi government.
The above two events are linked and are both reflections of a growing effort to communalise the district in Bengal.
The Yogi of Bengal
Also known as Swami Pradiptananda, Maharaj, associated with Bharat Sevashram Sangha, has emerged as a polarising figure in Bengal politics in recent times and has often played a direct role in state developments.
Hailed by local Bharatiya Janata Party supporters as the ‘Yogi of Bengal’ – after Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath – Kartik’s alleged influence in two communal clashes in Beldanga, a small municipal town close to Berhampore in Murshidabad has come under question.
On the day he was conferred the Padma award, Kartik delivered a fiery speech in nearby Nabaram, urging tribals to take up arms. He said:
“Just as [Hindu deity] Ram had to wield a bow and arrows to defeat Ravan, tribals in the district must keep weapons in their homes to overcome their enemies while chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’.”
A longtime promoter of a divisive agenda, Kartik has been making many inflammatory statements urging Hindus to abandon the traditional image of the gentle and compassionate ‘Banshidhari Krishna’ – the Hindu deity Krishna with a flute – in favour of the aggressive ‘Chakradhari Krishna’ – Krishna with the sharp-edged wheel. He has also claimed that it was a “national disgrace” that Mahatma Gandhi is considered the “father of the nation”.
A follower of Kartik was apprehended by the Bengal Police in connection with a conspiracy to incite communal unrest in Beldanga in November, 2024. The incident stemmed from a religious festival where a banner displaying derogatory remarks about a religious leader of another faith was prominently displayed on an LED panel. This provocation led to clashes between two groups.
A subsequent fact-finding report by the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR) implicated Kartik in instigating these clashes. Rahul Chakraborty, Murshidabad district secretary of the APDR, stated, “Our interviews with local residents revealed a decline in communal harmony in the area since the arrival of Kartik Maharaj and Badal Maharaj, the key organisers at the Beldanga Ashram.”
The Beldanga Ashram that Kartik heads has historical ties to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and was once patronised by RSS leader M.S. Golwalkar.
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In April 2024, just days before the Lok Sabha elections, communal violence broke out in the region during Ram Navami celebrations. The following month, during the polls, Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee publicly accused him of engaging in “dirty politics” to benefit the BJP. This statement became a key campaign issue and was later amplified by Modi. In Berhampore, religious polarisation deepened, driving BJP’s vote share up by over 15%, resulting in the defeat of long-time Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Choudhury at the hands of the Trinamool Congress. Interestingly, TMC managed to retain its vote share and secured victory in all three Lok Sabha seats in the district.
A Padma award
“I don’t even want to take a particular name, but the Padma award is losing its significance due to increased politicisation,” said Adhir Ranjan Choudhury.
TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee was also not pleased with the selection. “On what basis was this title given? There must be some criteria for it” he said.
But there are many who believe he is their natural leader.
“He has sacrificed his domestic life to engage in social service. He should have been awarded the Padma Shri much earlier!” said Dhananjoy Ghosh, a local BJP leader from the Sadgope community that has been supportive of Kartik in Murshidabad district.
However, Kartik’s rise is a mark of the increase in the RSS’s influence among the ‘lower’ caste Hindu communities across the district.
A Ram temple
Last week, a relatively unknown Bangiyo Hindu Sena and Bangiya Ram Seva Parishad Charitable Trust, with strong links to Hindu Janajagruiti Samiti, conducted a ‘bhumi puja‘ – rituals on the land meant for temple construction – for a Ram Lalla statue. A Ram temple is being constructed on the lines of the one in Ayodhya in the Sagardighi area.
Swami Ambikananda Maharaj, head of the Bangiya Hindu Sena, led the foundation-laying ceremony. He was joined by BJP state spokesperson Debjit Sarkar and other prominent figures with links to RSS. Addressing the gathering, Ambikananda Maharaj announced plans to build Ram temples across Bengal, including at Bharatpur, Murshidabad.
Ambika Maharaj at the bhumi pujan. Photo: Joydeep Sarkar.
“We will build Ram temples in various parts of Bengal. The public is supporting us, so the temple construction will continue. The campaign to build Ram temples in different districts will begin,” announced Ambikananda.
Echoing him, Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the Bengal assembly, declared that construction of a Ram temple, a bhog shala (a place to offer food), and a rest house would begin on a 2.5-acre plot of land owned by him in Sonachura, Nandigram, on April 6.
Temple matters
Alankar village, the site of the proposed temple in Murshidabad, is a remote and underdeveloped area with limited access and basic infrastructure. It is under the tribal-majority Barla Gram Panchayat. All elected representatives from the panchayat to the parliamentary level belong to the TMC. While they gave the official ceremony a miss, at least three local-level tribal leaders from the party visited the site in the morning and expressed their support. The 11-member temple trust has also announced a plan to build a Saraswati Shishu Mandir, the RSS-run primary school in the area.
“Most people living here belong to the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe communities. The total population is around 2,000, all of them are farmers. You can see from their houses how difficult their lives are due to the poor agricultural market. We are happy to be served a hearty meal at the ceremony,” said a local Tapan Mondal.
The road to Alangkar village passes through Sahapur, home to a large Bharat Sevashram. Further ahead lies Chandipur, a predominantly tribal Christian area.
“Here, everyone has been practicing their own religion for years. But now, with such a big Ram temple being built and all the leaders supporting it, I’m worried that they might start converting the tribals again. I’ve heard rumours about it,” said Raju Mardi, a local tribal farmer.
A church near the Alankar village. Photo: Joydeep Sarkar.
Increasing communalisation in a land of no jobs
In recent years, political parties and organisations in the state have increasingly invoked Ram as a symbolic figure for temple construction and worship. During Durga Puja, BJP leaders have been setting up pandals modelled after Ram temples, while on Ram Navami, both the BJP and RSS have organised large-scale processions. The TMC government has further reinforced the occasion by declaring Ram Navami a public holiday and actively joining the celebrations with its own processions.
Meanwhile, Humayun Kabir, the controversial TMC MLA from the district, has announced plans to rebuild Babri Masjid in the communally charged area of Beldanga. Kabir, who was accused of hate speech against BJP during the Lok Sabha campaign, was seen with Kartik Maharaj at a social gathering a few months ago. He was expelled from TMC in 2015 for anti-party activities and later joined the BJP in 2018, contesting the Murshidabad seat in the 2019 general elections and losing to TMC. After serving his six-year expulsion term, Kabir rejoined TMC and won the MLA seat from Bharatpur in 2021.
Humanyun Kabir with Karthik Maharaj in this file photo. Photo: By arrangement.
“Competitive communalism has started in the state, initiated by the chief minister. Build as many temples or mosques as you want, but invoking names like Ram Mandir or Babri Masjid reopens old wounds. This is a dangerous path,” said Adhir Ranjan Choudhury.
CPI(M) state secretary Mohammad Selim said, “There is no conflict between temples and mosques, but political religious sites are being created to spread division among people. Our state has set an example of a culture of harmony, but now, efforts are being made to create disrupt it.”
The proposed temple site in Alankar village shimmered under the moonlight, adorned with fairy lights. While the event offered a rare escape from their daily grind, a chance for food, light, and music for many of the village’s impoverished residents living in mud huts, most of the village’s men were absent.
Posters lining the village entrance invited people to contact a specific address for work in Karnataka’s rice fields. This, perhaps, held a more immediate appeal for those struggling to make ends meet.
“If we don’t work as day labourers, how will we eat?” asked local villager Kartik Mondal.
Translated from the Bengali original and with inputs by Aparna Bhattacharya.