West Bengal to celebrate Valentine’s Day with a state holiday – Here’s why

In December 2020, West Bengal decided to honour the commercial celebration of love across the world – Valentine’s Day, with a ‘state holiday’. The notification was announced by state’s CM Mamata Banerjee on account of the birth anniversary of well-known social reformer Panchanan Barma (1866-1935).

While the reformer was actually born on February 13, the state’s CM used his birthday according to the Bengali calendar, poila phagun (the first day of Spring). The step was taken to avoid any potential concerns by the BJP and the right-wing trolls.

As the Bengali date follows the lunar calendar and depends on the lunar cycle, the birth date of the social reformer sometimes falls on February 13 and sometimes on the 14th.

In December 2020, the Trinamool’s student wing – TMC Chatra Parishad approached the party leadership to announce Valentine’s Day as a holiday. By approving this request, Mamata Banerjee has garnered support of about 10 per cent of West Bengal’s population who speak Rajbangshi.

The Rajbangshis played an important role in the 2019 Lok Sabha election and hence the TMC wanted to win their trust. As first-time voters mostly come from colleges, this move has helped Mamata garner some extra voters.