📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Anup Sadi
Religion
Pandit community in Gaya protests Bihar tourism’s online pind‑daan package for Pitruparva 2026
✍️ Amar Ujala · Bihar
🗓 16 Sep 2026, 08:15 PM
👁 8
The Bihar tourism department’s e‑pind‑daan and travel package for Pitruparva‑2026 sparked protests from Gaya’s Pandit community, which says the ritual is a matter of faith, not tourism.
The Bihar tourism department announced an online e‑pind‑daan service and a special travel package linked to the upcoming Pitruparva‑2026 celebrations.
The move provoked strong opposition from the Pandit community of Gaya, which maintains that pind‑daan is a sacred rite intended to secure moksha for ancestors, not a commercial tourism product.
Community leaders argued that packaging the ritual undermines its spiritual significance and urged the department to withdraw the scheme immediately.
The tourism department has not yet issued a formal response, and officials are expected to meet with religious representatives to address the concerns.
The move provoked strong opposition from the Pandit community of Gaya, which maintains that pind‑daan is a sacred rite intended to secure moksha for ancestors, not a commercial tourism product.
Community leaders argued that packaging the ritual undermines its spiritual significance and urged the department to withdraw the scheme immediately.
The tourism department has not yet issued a formal response, and officials are expected to meet with religious representatives to address the concerns.