Tarakeshwar Murder Case of 1873- Kalighat Pattachitra

The Taarkeshwar Affair ( Also known as the Taarkeshwar Scandal) refers to a Public scandal of 19th Century during the British Raj. It resulted from a forceful sexual relation between Elokeshi, the teenage (15 years old) wife of a government employee Nobin Chandra & the Maharaj Madhan Chandra Giri, the scandalous Brahmin head priest ( or the Mahant) of the Taarkeshwar Shiva Temple.

Nobin subsequently decapitated his wife Elokeshi because he could not save her from the indecent Mahant. A highly publicised trial followed, Dubbed the Tarakeshwar Murder case of 1873, in which both the husband & the Mahant were found guilty in varying degrees.

Bengali society considered Mahant’s actions as punishable & criminal, while justifying Nabin’s action of Killing an unchaste wife. The resulting public outrage forced authorities to release Nobin after 2 years.

The scandal became the subject of Kalighat Paintings which often portrayed Nobin as a devoted husband. The Mahant was generally presented as a womaniser, who took advantage of young women. The murder victim Elokeshi was sometimes blamed as a seductress & the root cause of the affair. In other portrayals, she was absolved of all guilt & was portrayed to have been tricked & raped by the Mahant.

Craft: Bengal Pattachitra by the Patuas (State of West Bengal)

Artist-  Rahim Chitrakar