Tuesday, October 11 2005 11:57 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Siliguri: Goddess Durga has been caught in the quagmire of hill politics. Barring one or two, most Durga puja pandals in Darjeeling have replaced idols of the deity with a stone.

According to Subhas Ghising, the Gorkha National Liberation Front supremo, clay images cannot be worshipped and only a stone should be placed in the pandals as the Darjeeling hills are 'tribal' in character.

Ghising, the caretaker administrator of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), had issued a whip on September 17 this year that only 'shilas' could be worshipped, not images. This was to 'prove' the tribal character of the Darjeeling populace.

The largest Durga puja pandal in the hills jointly organised by the DHHC and the Darjeeling Municipality at Chowrasta has no idiol, but a chunk of stone weighing 101 kg.

The puja organised by Bengalis at Nripendranarayan Bengali Hall, however, refused to kowtow before Ghising's edict and has a clay image.

The Centre, at a tripartite meeting in New Delhi on July one had agreed to accord special status to the Darjeeling hills under the sixth Schedule of the Constitution i.e. tribal status.

Recently, on Ghising's instructions a rally was held with people turning out in tribal clothing. This according to Ghising 'proved' that the Darjeeling hills were inhabited by tribals.

Five years back, Ghising had introduced the worship of the 18-armed Durga instead of the traditional image of the goddess with 10 arms. This had also been an effort by Ghising to prove the 'distinctive character' of the Darjeeling hills.

Though the worship of 'shilas' at pandal has dampened the enthusiasm of the celebration of the goddess' advent on earth, puja organisers, by and large, have taken pains not to violate Ghising's 'orders'.

The hardest hit have been the clay-modellers of Siliguri who in the past supplied around 200 images to Durga puja organisers.

The clay-modellers were thrown into a quandary as they had 400 images while organisers refused to take delivery, a spokesman of the artisans, S K Paul said.

"We even had to return the advances we had taken from the organisers," he added.