8 months ago
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One of the largest red-light areas successful Kolkata’s Sonagachi, with implicit 12,000 enactment workers, celebrates the 13th variation of their Durga Pujas. Started successful 2013, the women of the country erupted successful joyousness arsenic MLA Madan Mitra inaugurated their Durga Puja pandal successful the bosom of northbound Kolkata.
“I americium a worker; you are a worker. Every azygous idiosyncratic works for money. Then wherefore bash we criticise enactment workers for their work? They are moving with dignity, not stealing wealth from anyone,” Mr. Mitra, who is besides the President of the Durbar Mahila Durgatsav Committee’s President said portion inaugurating the puja.
This comes successful discourse that adjacent though Durga Puja idols are made with the ungraded from the Sonagachi’s red-light area, the enactment workers from the portion are not allowed wrong immoderate of the pandals owed to societal taboo. But they refused to springiness up connected their close to entree their Goddess Durga which is popularly known arsenic the festival for all. This led the women of the country combat for their rights. They went to the Calcutta High Court successful 2013 and got an bid which allowed them to commencement their ain Durga Puja wrong the red-light area.
When they wanted to bash their ain Durga Puja, they were met with unit and absorption from locals. The enactment workers of Sonagachi ailment that locals said they are “tainted” women and conducting their ain celebrations of Goddess Durga would beryllium an “impure” affair. They faced some carnal and verbal maltreatment trying to get their basal rights of celebrating festivals. But they did not budge.
After the High Court bid they were allowed to behaviour their Durga Puja, but they stay constricted to a tiny area. But the precise program of their ain Durga Puja brought outpouring joyousness successful the lanes of Sonagachi, the women celebrated successful afloat fervour, adorning the pandal with colours, music, and rituals that marked a long-cherished imagination of their ain Puja.
“Durga Puja is for everyone. They instrumentality the ungraded from our courtyard to marque their idols, but bash not let america successful the aforesaid Durga Pujas. Why this discrimination? I consciousness blessed that we were capable to combat for our rights and drawback the accidental to observe our puja,” a enactment idiosyncratic successful Sonagachi told The Hindu, wishing to enactment anonymous to support her identity.
Mr. Mitra added that done years of fight, Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (a enactment workers’ collective) has won basal quality rights for the enactment workers, and with time, they volition besides beryllium capable to execute their main extremity of being recognised arsenic workers nether the Indian law.
“Our Durga Puja is simply a landmark measurement towards getting designation successful society. In the agelong tally we volition proceed this aforesaid combat to get our workers’ rights,” Bishakha Laskar, caput of DMSC.
With implicit 40,000 members crossed West Bengal, Durbar has vowed to commencement Durga Pujas crossed aggregate districts to guarantee that their workers tin bask festivities crossed the State with adjacent respect. They person already started Durga Puja successful 4 different centres of DMSC successful Durgapur, Asansol, Bishnupur, and Alipurduar. They privation to commencement much successful the coming days.
