Odisha Sees Red as Mamata Hops on to Jagannath Chariot

A Jagannath temple in Digha has ignited a political and religious controversy between Bengal and Odisha.

- SUPROTIM MUKHERJEE

A newly inaugurated Jagannath temple in Digha, West Bengal, built with government funds and with the active patronage of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has sparked a major controversy between the neighboring eastern states of Odisha and West Bengal.

At the heart of the dispute is Banerjee's decision to call the temple "Jagannath Dham," a title traditionally and scripturally exclusive to the historic 12th-century Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha—one of Hinduism's most sacred pilgrimage sites.

The Digha Jagannath Temple is a replica of the world-famous shrine in Puri and was inaugurated with much fanfare by Banerjee on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya on April 30.

In official papers, however, the temple has been referred to as the "Jagannath Dham Sanskriti Kendra." Built over 22 acres at a cost of approximately Rs 250 crore, the temple in Digha is being promoted as both a spiritual center and a tourist attraction.

Trinamool Congress leaders, led by their supremo, have used slogans such as "No need to go to Puri to see Jagannath Dham and the sea. Now come to Digha."

Slogans and comments like these have intensified resentment. The term 'Dham' holds deep religious significance in Hindu theology. Adi Shankaracharya, the prominent 8th-century Hindu philosopher, designated four key pilgrimage sites as India's official 'Char Dham': Badrinath, Dwarka, Rameswaram, and Puri.

Religious scholars, priests, and servitors from Odisha have strongly protested West Bengal's usage of the term, claiming it misrepresents and undermines centuries-old traditions.

The Odisha government has ordered a probe into allegations that leftover timber procured for the Nabakalebara rituals at the Jagannath Temple in Puri was used to carve the idols of the sibling deities at the new temple complex in Digha.