Should Bengalis eat non-veg food during Durga Puja? What religious voices say

As Durga Puja approaches, debates have surfaced about whether Bengalis should consume non-vegetarian food during the festival. Various religious voices have weighed in on the matter. Swami Balabhadrananda, assistant secretary of the Ramakrishna Mission, clarified that neither Swami Vivekananda nor Thakur mentioned any rules about eating non-vegetarian or vegetarian food for spiritual progress.

Instead, they emphasized that one's character, rather than dietary choices, is more important. Swami Paramatmananda Maharaj, a religious leader, criticized some self-styled religious figures spreading misinformation and urged resistance against their dogmatic views. The Ramakrishna Mission, which has a century-old tradition of organizing Durga Puja, maintains that food habits don't restrict monks, students, or devotees.

A member of a prominent Bengali family shared that their Durga Puja starts with non-vegetarian offerings and includes vegetarian food on certain days, with no hard and fast rules for other occasions.