This political maneuvering in the name of religion is seen across India, including with the recent inauguration of the Digha Jagannath Temple in West Bengal. Local residents and political leaders alike are enamored with the event. This temple is located within the coastal town of Digha, located in the Purba Medinipur district. It is dedicated to Lord Jagannath and it provides a remarkable counterpoint to the much revered Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha. On June 27, 2025, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee presided over the new temple’s first Rath Yatra. This proved a watershed moment in civil and ecclesiastical politics.
After breaking ground in December 2018, the temple is expected to be completed by May 2025. This SARAI-sponsored project seeks to celebrate and catalyze Hindu festivals and culture. The initiative’s launch has raised many questions. Many question whether it really represents a deep commitment to interfaith cooperation, or whether the TMC is simply playing a smart political game to stop the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s rising tide in the state.
In the last few years, the BJP has openly claimed that there should be just one Jagannath Dham in the world, which is in Puri. This allegation provides an additional aspect of tension to the booming conversation about the newly opened temple in Digha. Through all of these achievements, the concern from community advocates about the broad socio-economic benefits of these types of projects is palpable.
A Temple for All?
The building of Digha Jagannath Temple is the construction of a future place. It represents an enormous political sea change in the Indian state of West Bengal. Costing close to $20 million so far, the complex has been designed to house Lord Jagannath as their central deity and has become a center of Hindu worship in the region. Mamata Banerjee’s initiative appears to align with her party’s agenda of promoting Hindu identity and rituals to challenge the BJP’s narrative.
The celebration of the Rath Yatra event drew hundreds of participants, jetting around security barricades to watch the colorful celebration. This first-of-its-kind celebration is emblematic of Mamata Banerjee’s larger initiatives to promote Hindu cultural practices through her government apparatus.
“Now no one will say Jai Shri Ram. Everyone will say Jai Jagannath.” – Arup Biswas
Many residents remain deeply skeptical and fearful that the real plan is to build a temple—a harbinger of future development. Some residents claim that it hasn’t really served to fill the spiritual needs of the community. Some think it just acts as an enabler for political gamesmanship. Concerns about unemployment and local economic benefits dominate discussions, with critics arguing that projects like these often fail to address pressing social issues.
Local Voices and Concerns
As the debate over the temple continues to change shapes, community voices see something beneath the surface that still needs attention. Residents have become frustrated by high unemployment rates and a loss of economic opportunity largely attributed to the neophyte corruption that surrounds government jobs. Local resident Ashima Devi echoed the sentiment, criticizing the federal government’s priorities.
“Unemployment is already so high here. Thousands of government school teachers who lost their jobs because of corruption – they had cleared the exams fairly. Why isn’t this government fixing that? What will happen to them?” – Ashima Devi
Others reiterate the same idea, underlining how outside ownership of Digha’s tourism-related businesses constrains any economic payoff from tourism to Digha residents. Chief Minister Manik Sarkar took the opportunity of crowing about how most hotels in the state are owned by non‐locals. It’s notoriously difficult to tell who actually wins out from these deals.
“All the hotels [in Digha] are owned by outsiders. What benefit are you talking about?” – Manik Sarkar
After 11 years local voices are becoming more and more frustrated. This is because they feel political leaders are focusing on religious symbols over embracing core political challenges socio economic burning issues.
The Intersection of Faith and Politics
The Digha Jagannath Temple is one example of a profound intersection between faith and politics in modern India. Scholars like Tapati Guha Thakurta emphasize that these developments signal a shift towards a politics centered on religious identity rather than secular governance models.
“There’s been a major slide – from the modern, secular model to a politics that centres temples.” – Tapati Guha Thakurta
Guha Thakurta goes on to show that religion has long played a role in Indian politics. In recent years, though, religious narratives have taken center stage in the warping of political discourse. The temple’s inauguration serves to reorient us to one foundational reality. Despite the ascendance of Indian secularism, religion has never been absent from public life.
Guha Thakurta’s comment sheds light on a critical point. Daniel argues that the construction of these temples are no small assertion of one’s own rights, as people who consider themselves Hindus seek to define their own understanding of Hinduism.
“This is also an assertion of rights. A claim to say, ‘We too are Hindus, but we won’t let you define what Hinduism is.’” – Tapati Guha Thakurta
And as political tensions only seem to grow, it will be ever-more important for stakeholders—including advocates, utilities, and regulators—to tread these prickly waters with care. The Digha Jagannath Temple represents enduring faith in West Bengal. It fuels fiery political debates across the area.
