Hindu OBC Front Seeks Rani Rashmoni Dham in Bengal, Calls for OBC Quota Limited to Hindus.

Hindu OBC Front to Mark Rani Rashmoni’s 233rd Birth Anniversary in Kolkata’s Raindra Sanadn on Sept 28.

Rabindra Sadan programme to highlight the 19th-century icon’s religious legacy, philanthropy and public service; Front seeks wider social consolidation among Hindu OBC communities.

Sankirtan Das | HENB | Kolkata | September 23, 2026:: The Hindu OBC Front, an umbrella organisation established in 2025 to bring together various Other Backward Classes (OBC)-oriented and caste-based organisations in West Bengal, is set to organise a special programme in Kolkata on September 28 to commemorate the 233rd birth anniversary of Lokmata Rani Rashmoni Devi.

The organisation says it seeks to promote broader social consolidation among Hindu OBC communities and to address what it describes as Islamist influence and perceived disparities in the state’s OBC reservation framework. At the same time, the Front says it is attempting to build its ideological foundations around Hindu religious and cultural traditions and what it describes as the fundamentals of Sanatan Hindu Dharma, while avoiding the more sharply critical approaches to Hinduism associated with figures such as E.V. Ramasamy Periyar, B.R. Ambedkar and certain strands of Dravidian thought.

The Front has rooted its organisational identity in the religious, cultural and social legacy of Rani Rashmoni, whom it regards as an important symbol of Hindu devotion, philanthropy, public service and social harmony in Bengal.

Rani Rashmoni as the Front’s cultural inspiration

Born on September 28, 1793, into a Mahishya (Chasi Kaivartya) family at Kona village in present-day North 24 Parganas, Rani Rashmoni rose to prominence in 19th-century Bengal. The West Bengal Tourism Department describes her as a major figure who assumed responsibility for her family’s business and zamindari administration after the death of her husband, Babu Rajchandra Das, and subsequently became known for philanthropy, public initiatives and her interventions on behalf of ordinary people.

Her name is most closely associated with the Dakshineswar Kali Temple, dedicated to Bhavatarini, a form of Adya Kali. The temple, built by Rani Rashmoni in 1855 on the eastern bank of the Hooghly, is constructed in the traditional Nava-ratna, or nine-spired, style and is spread across a large temple complex. The West Bengal Tourism Department describes it as one of the state’s important Hindu religious sites and highlights its association with Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.

The Dakshineswar temple subsequently became closely associated with Sri Ramakrishna’s spiritual life and his worship of Goddess Kali. The site therefore acquired significance extending beyond its original establishment as a temple, becoming an important centre in the religious history of modern Bengal.

For the Hindu OBC Front, Rani Rashmoni’s legacy represents an indigenous model of religious commitment combined with social responsibility. The organisation says it seeks to draw upon this legacy while developing a Hindu OBC-oriented social platform.

A legacy of philanthropy and public works

Rani Rashmoni’s public activities extended considerably beyond the Dakshineswar temple. The West Bengal Tourism Department records her involvement in the construction of ghats and other public works, charitable activities and initiatives intended to assist pilgrims and ordinary residents. It also lists her among the “Legends of Bengal.”

One of the most prominent landmarks associated with her family is Babughat on the Hooghly. The West Bengal Tourism Department states that the ghat was built in 1830 by Babu Raj Chandra Das and was named after him. It remains one of Kolkata’s historic riverfront landmarks.

The Tourism Department also records Rani Rashmoni’s intervention on behalf of fishermen whose livelihoods were affected by British steamship traffic on the Hooghly. According to the department’s historical account, she took action against the disruption and used her influence to secure relief for the affected community.

Her historical profile consequently combines religious devotion, philanthropy, public infrastructure and intervention in social and economic affairs. These aspects of her life have contributed to her continuing place in Bengal’s cultural memory.

Hindu OBC Front’s ideological emphasis

The Hindu OBC Front says its formation in 2025 was intended to bring together different OBC-oriented and caste-based organisations under a common platform. Its stated objective is to facilitate greater unity among Hindu backward communities and to develop a wider Hindu social consolidation.

The organisation also seeks to frame OBC mobilisation through a Hindu cultural and religious identity. In this context, the Front says it is attempting to synthesise what it considers the fundamental principles of Hindu religious tradition and strengthen its ideological foundations around Sanatan Hindu Dharma.

Its stated approach differs from strands of social and political thought that have historically criticised Hindu religious traditions. The organisation specifically seeks to avoid what it regards as the harsher anti-Hindu commentaries associated with Periyar, Ambedkar and certain Dravidian ideological formulations, while instead attempting to combine OBC social mobilisation with Hindu religious and cultural continuity.

This ideological positioning is presented by the Front as an effort to build social unity without severing the relationship between backward-community identity and the wider Hindu civilisational tradition.

Four-hour programme at Rabindra Sadan

The commemorative programme will take place at the Rabindra Sadan auditorium in Kolkata on Monday, September 28, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM.

According to the organisers, the programme will include tributes to Rani Rashmoni, a discourse on her life and legacy, and a discussion meeting focusing on her contribution to Bengal’s religious, social and public life.

The event is expected to bring together representatives of OBC organisations, social activists, political leaders, academics, lawyers and other members of civil society.

Sisir Adhikari named Chief Guest

According to the Hindu OBC Front, former MP and former Union Minister Shri Sisir Kumar Adhikari will attend the programme as the Chief Guest. He is the father of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

Adhikari’s official parliamentary profile records that he served as a Union Minister of State for Rural Development in 2009 and represented Kanthi in the Lok Sabha for three terms. Recent reporting also identifies him as the father of the current West Bengal Chief Minister.

Other invited dignitaries named by the organisers include Industryu and Commerce Minister Shri Tapas Roy, Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Shri Dilip Ghosh; Minister for Backward Classes Welfare Shri Gauri Shankar Ghosh; Calcutta High Court lawyer and social activist Debjit Sarkar; Dr. Bhaskar Mahanayak, Principal of Thakurpukur Vivekananda College; Hindutva activist Upananda Brahmachari and social activist .and lawyer Prasun Moitra (Founder, Atmadeep).

The organisers have also invited MPs, MLAs, political leaders, doctors, teachers, professors, lawyers, social workers and other eminent personalities to attend the programme.

Rani Rashmoni remembered as a symbol of public service

The Hindu OBC Front says the September 28 programme is intended to be more than a conventional birth-anniversary celebration. It seeks to use the occasion to highlight Rani Rashmoni’s religious commitment, public service and social contributions while placing her legacy within the cultural history of Bengal.

Her association with Dakshineswar is particularly significant. The temple she established remains an important Hindu pilgrimage destination, while its association with Sri Ramakrishna has given the site a wider place in the religious history of Bengal. The state Tourism Department continues to identify Dakshineswar as a major religious and heritage destination.

The Front says that Rani Rashmoni’s life provides an example of how religious devotion, philanthropy and public service can coexist with social responsibility. It is this combination that the organisation seeks to invoke while developing its own platform among Hindu OBC communities.

Rani Rashmonidham temple proposal

According to Siddhananda Purkait, the chief organiser of the event, a model of the proposed Rani Rashmonidham Temple will be presented to representatives of the West Bengal Government during the programme.

Purkait said the organisers want the state government to consider taking an initiative to establish the proposed temple at a proper location with appropriate importance and dignity. The presentation of the temple model is expected to form an additional feature of the September 28 programme and is intended to draw attention to the preservation and public recognition of Rani Rashmoni’s religious and cultural legacy.

Criticising what he described as the former TMC government’s policy of expanding the OBC list to include an increasing number of Muslim communities, Siddhananda Purkait alleged that the “extreme Muslim appeasement” of the erstwhile Mamata Banerjee government had adversely affected the educational and employment opportunities of Hindu OBC communities in West Bengal. Purkait welcomed the intervention of the courts in striking down what he described as illegal inclusions of Muslim communities in the state’s OBC lists. He further said that the Hindu OBC Front would take its campaign to the streets, demanding action against individuals who, according to the organisation, secured government employment on the basis of OBC certificates that were subsequently declared illegal, invalid or cancelled.

The organisers have appealed to members of the public, community representatives and other concerned citizens to extend their cooperation and attend the programme commemorating the 233rd birth anniversary of Lokmata Rani Rashmoni Devi.

Reporter’s note: The biographical and heritage details above are cross-checked against the West Bengal Tourism Department’s official accounts of Rani Rashmoni, Dakshineswar and Babughat. Claims about the Hindu OBC Front’s objectives, ideological approach, proposed temple and event arrangements are presented as statements or information supplied by the organisers.