When the Body Becomes a Temple: The Ramnami Samaj's Century-Old Rebellion Now Inspires Kolkata's Durga Puja
Denied entry into temples, they did not argue — they carried Ram on their skin instead. TWF-IBNS correspondent Souvik Ghosh traces how Chhattisgarh's Ramnami Samaj, a Dalit devotional community that began tattooing the name of Ram across their bodies in the 1890s as a quiet act of resistance against caste exclusion, has travelled from the margins of religious history to the heart of this year's Durga Puja — where their extraordinary story of faith, identity and defiance is the centrepiece in Chaltabagan, one of North Kolkata's most celebrated pandals.
From Ramnami tattoos to a global app: Chaltabagan's 'Nishan' takes Durga Puja beyond Kolkata
Kolkata: They came from Chhattisgarh with the name of Ram tattooed across every inch of their bodies—elders of the Ramnami Samaj, a devotional community who began inscribing themselves in the 1890s as a quiet act of protest against temple exclusion.
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Art and Culture
When the Body Becomes a Temple: The Ramnami Samaj's Century-Old Rebellion Now Inspires Kolkata's Durga Puja
September 03, 2026
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Art and Culture
From Ramnami tattoos to a global app: Chaltabagan's 'Nishan' takes Durga Puja beyond Kolkata
September 01, 2026