Id prayers moved to the Brigade Ground in Calcutta as the Bengal Govt. imposes new curbs on Bakrid celebrations

Muslims offer namaz on the occasion of Id at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata on Thursday morning. | Photo credit: Shrabana Chatterjee

This year’s Id-ul-Azha celebrations in Kolkata were marked by a major change of venue, with the morning prayers being held from the traditional Red Road to the Brigade Parade Ground. The festival also did not witness any public slaughter of animals after a notification by the West Bengal government on May 13 banned the same.

Trinamool Congress MLA from Kasba constituency, Javed Khan, visited Brigade Ground to offer his Id-ul-Azha prayers on Thursday (May 28, 2026) morning. “None of us are outside the law. We are all citizens here. We have to abide by whatever law the current government passes,” Mr Khan said of the change of venue.

Mallick Md. Ishak, joint secretary, Kolkata Khilafat Committee, organizers of the Id namaz offerings at the Brigade Ground, told The Hindu that they are happy to offer namaz at the new venue. “We are happy to offer namaz here. We are grateful to the administration and the police for helping us organize and shift the venue here,” Mr. Ishak said.

Hundreds of people gathered on the ground early on Thursday, May 28, 2026 in crisp white robes to say their prayers. | Photo credit: Shrabana Chatterjee

Hundreds gathered at the ground early Thursday in bright white clothing to say their prayers.

“We are happy with the arrangement we have made here. Brigade Parade Ground is a historical place where many eminent personalities have paraded. We feel happy to be here to offer our namaz. But we would also like to say that there should be no bias and discrimination against us on the basis of religion,” said a man who came to offer namaz. He added that people of other religions are allowed to hold their celebrations on the roads, with restrictions imposed specifically on his community.

Cattle sacrifice events are usually held in Kolkata on Id-ul-Azha. However, no such incident took place this year after the slaughter of animals without proper slaughter certificate from the veterinarian and government authorities was banned in the state. The animal must be over 14 years of age and declared fit for slaughter before it can be allowed for consumption.

“The animal for which the certificate has been issued shall be slaughtered only in municipal abattoirs or any other abattoir designated by the local administration; Slaughter of animals for which the certificate has been issued is strictly prohibited in any open public place,” the state government’s May 13 notification said. It also warned that anyone who failed to follow the rules could be jailed for up to six months and jailed.

Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress President Mamata Banerjee and General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee took to their social media to greet Id.

Morning namaz was shifted from Red Road to Brigade Parade Ground this year. | Photo credit: Shrabana Chatterjee

Curbs at celebrations

Ahead of this Id, West Bengal saw many new rules and regulations around the festivities that brought restrictions on Muslims celebrating Id.

Cow sales at wholesale markets across the state plummeted due to fears of a backlash. As most of the cow owners in Bengal are Hindus who keep them for milk, there was great distress among them – many of them complained of mounting debts without the ability to sell their cows.

“These cows do not produce milk after six years. How can we feed cows for eight years when it will not do us any good? Muslims are now refusing to buy cows from us, we are in deep trouble. We have taken thousands of loans to buy these cows because it is a business. Once the milk dries up, we will sell it during Bakri-Eid to our Muslim brothers,” said the owner of the cow.

In many places, mosque imams have asked the Muslim community to refrain from eating beef to avoid conflicts. The sale of beef in stores also decreased dramatically. Many restaurants that are known for their beef dishes have also posted “no beef” signs on their doors and removed beef dishes from the menu.

On 11 May, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Arjun Singh declared that no namaz offerings would be allowed on the roads. “Speakers and roadside namaz will not be allowed. They can offer namaz in mosques. Why block roads?” said Mr. Singh.

Published – 28 May 2026 21:26 IST