Summary:
"Since we started Durga puja, we have been performing Kumari puja also on Maha Ashtami every year. Asked why they opted for a Muslim girl, Dutta said: "Nowhere is it written in the scriptures that a Kumari can't be a non-Brahmin. Dutta said he has not faced any opposition from his family or any one for the choice of a Muslim girl for the Kumari puja. Kumari Puja was started by Swami Vivekananda in 1901 at the Belur Math to underline the importance of women. Earlier, an ascetic is said to have performed Kumari puja by worshipping a Muslim girl in 1898 in Kashmir..