Historic Tarakeswar Shiva temple gets a new saffron look ahead of PM Visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Tarakeswar on Saturday to attend the West Bengal Foundation Day celebrations, offer prayers at the Tarakeswar temple and address a public rally. The visit will be his first to the state since the BJP government was sworn in last month.

During an earlier visit to Tarakeswar, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had announced that the new government would change the temple’s colour scheme, describing saffron as a symbol of spirituality.

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Dandiswami Sureswar Ashram, head of the Tarakeswar Temple Authority, welcomed the Prime Minister’s visit and said that the new phase of development and beautification work, including the temple’s new saffron appearance, was a commendable initiative undertaken by the BJP government.

Ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit, the historic Tarakeswar Shiva temple is undergoing extensive renovation and cleaning, with the shrine’s colour scheme being changed from blue and white to saffron.

The walls surrounding the Dudhpukur pond, where devotees traditionally take a holy dip before offering prayers at the temple, are also being repainted white with saffron highlights.

Pursurah MLA Biman Ghosh and Tarakeswar MLA Santu Pan said that the Prime Minister and Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari have planned several development initiatives for Tarakeswar. These include improvements in railway connectivity, the introduction of express train services, the development of hospital infrastructure and several other projects for the area.

The choice of Tarakeswar for the Prime Minister’s visit carries considerable historical significance.

During the final phase of British rule, when the future of undivided Bengal remained uncertain amid the impending Partition, a resolution was passed in the Bengal Legislative Assembly on 20 June 1947 declaring that West Bengal would remain a part of independent India.

The historic resolution was preceded by a three-day meeting of the Bangiya Hindu Mahasabha at Tarakeswar, led by Syama Prasad Mukherjee, where the proposal was adopted.