There is resentment in one of India’s most-celebrated temple towns, Puri, against the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). The global movement to promote devotion to Lord Krishna through chanting has been organising Rath Yatra processions across several countries. In most, the dates have differed from the one prescribed by the centuries-old ritual calendar of the Shree Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri. Further, the organisation refused to abide by the schedule of the temple’s managing committee in Puri.This year’s Rath Yatra began on Thursday (July 16, 2026) at the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri and across India, with three towering wooden chariots carrying Lord Jagannath and his siblings – Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra – through the Bada Danda (Grand Road) in Puri. However, ISKCON has been conducting the festival internationally since May 9, as per their press release, and will cover 26 locations in Asia, North America, Europe, and Africa. They are also organising Rath Yatras at 66 places in Madhya Pradesh, between July 16 and 25, two of which are outside the nine-day period recommended as per the calendar of the Jagannath Temple in Puri.Standing near one of the chariots, Badri Mishra, a 67-year-old cultural activist, his voice trembling in anger, let out a barrage of invectives against ISKCON. “If ISKCON comes to Puri,” Mishra growled, “it will face the anger of Lord Jagannath’s devotees.”Escalating his attack, Mishra added, “We want governance like that of Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Minister). Jadi kounasi sangathan Bharatara Sanatan dharmaku ehara chariti pabitra sthana madhyaru gotiare asamman karibaku sahas kare, tebe tahaku nischinta kada karjyanusthanra sammukhina karibaku padiba. (If any organisation dares to disrespect Sanatana Dharma at one of its four sacred centres in India, it must face strict action.) It should no longer be allowed to operate in Odisha, or for that matter in India.”The Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee has been raising the issue for several years now, but over the past couple of years there has been more press. People in Puri feel that with a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at both the Centre and the State, and the country’s President from Odisha, they stand a better chance at being able to influence ISKCON’s stand.Letters of request Binayak Das Mohapatra, a Biswabasu sevayat, who hereditarily performs temple services, stood with Mishra next to the chariot, and said, “Would the Christian community allow others to celebrate the birth of Christ on March 2 or October 5 instead of December 25? How can ISKCON take the liberty of observing the Rath Yatra on any day other than the one designated by the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri?”