On 2 September 2026, a group of men dressed in saffron staged a protest outside the Anandabazar Patrika office in Kolkata. The protesters painted the white gate pillars of the 104-year-old newspaper’s building saffron and shouted slogans. The demonstration followed controversy over a headline in the newspaper that used the phrase “saffron hooliganism” in reference to recent student clashes at Jadavpur University. Police personnel were present at the site but did not intervene to stop the protesters.According to Deccan Herald, the protest was triggered after West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari tacitly demanded an apology from the newspaper for its headline. Adhikari had stated that if the daily did not apologise, monks wearing saffron would protest against it. The protesters, some wearing saffron headscarves, raised slogans against the newspaper in front of the office while police stood guard but did not prevent the painting of the pillars.As reported by Scroll, videos circulated on social media showed the men painting the building and chanting, “Hindustan will not tolerate the insult of saffron.” The protest followed the newspaper’s use of the phrase “gerua gundami” (saffron hooliganism) in its coverage of the August 20 clash between Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Left-affiliated student groups at Jadavpur University. The ABVP is the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.'Is Bengal CM Scared of JU?': Suvendu Adhikari's Angry Speech Sparks QuestionsFurther details indicated that the protest occurred around 1:45 pm, days after an FIR was filed against Anandabazar Patrika’s editorial team, including two journalists, under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to promoting enmity and intentional insult. The complaint was filed by Sanjay Shastri Maharaj, a saffron-clad Hindu monk, who alleged that the phrase hurt religious sentiments. The Federation of Press Clubs condemned the FIR, calling it an attempt to intimidate the media.As coverage revealed, the newspaper’s authorities repainted the gate pillars white a few hours after the protest. The editor of Anandabazar Patrika posted a line from Rabindranath Tagore’s poem on social media: “Uccha Jetha Shir… (Where the head is held high…).”“Freedom of speech is guaranteed by the Constitution, but we must maintain the principle of nation first,” Suvendu Adhikari said, urging media professionals to avoid words that could weaken the country or hurt religious sentiments.Police presence was noted at the protest site as details emerged, but no action was taken against the protesters at the time. The men involved in painting the building had not been identified as of the latest updates, and no formal complaint had been filed regarding the act of defacement.Statements from political leaders and press associations criticised both the protest and the FIR against the journalists. Reporting indicated that the Indian Women’s Press Corps and the Press Association described the registration of FIRs against journalists as “disturbing” and a threat to press freedom.“Ongoing attacks all around, with governmental support, and such a display of muscle power by uncultured brutes have dealt an ugly blow to Bengal’s image,” said Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh on social media.The incident followed a period of heightened tension after the Jadavpur University clashes, with both the protest and the legal actions against the newspaper drawing national attention. Analysis showed that the protest was directly linked to the ongoing debate over press freedom and the use of religious symbolism in political discourse.Behind BJP’s Name-Change Politics in Bengal, a Search for Hindutva IconsNote: This article is produced using AI-assisted tools and is based on publicly available information. It has been reviewed by The Quint's editorial team before publishing.