Internet ban in Bhadrak after man hurt in communal clash succumbs
BHADRAK : Internet services were suspended for 24 hours in parts of Bhadrak district from 6 am on Thursday as a precautionary measure following the death of a man who had suffered injuries in a communal clash in Tihidi block on May 30.
The internet shutdown was enforced in Bhadrak town, Dhamnagar and Tihidi blocks.
The 46-year-old man, Santosh Parida of Kasati village under Tihidi block, succumbed to injuries on Wednesday after battling for life at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar for around two weeks. He had sustained serious head injuries during a clash with suspected cattle smugglers on May 30.
Police sources said protesting illegal cattle trafficking in the area, Parida and a few local youths confronted the smugglers which led to the violent altercation.
Bhadrak SP Manoj Rout said 12 persons, including the alleged mastermind of the group, have been arrested in connection with the incident. The internet suspension is intended to curb the spread of misinformation and maintain peace, he said.
At least 27 platoons of police force have been deployed in sensitive locations in the district to prevent any untoward situation and maintain law and order. Local leaders along with the district administration are also facilitating inter-community dialogue to restore normalcy. The administration has urged residents to cooperate with law enforcement agencies and refrain from sharing unverified information on social media.
On the day, members of Bhadrak Gau Rakshya Samiti and other Hindu organisations took out a procession carrying Parida's body in the district. Police remained on high alert throughout and ensured that the procession passed off peacefully.
Earlier, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced `10 lakh compensation for Parida's kin and a job for one of his family member. 'We stand with the bereaved family and are taking all necessary steps to ensure that peace prevails,' the CM said in a statement.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Ram Madhav writes: What the current discourse on religious freedom gets wrong
In an interesting report, 'Changing the conversation about religious freedom: An integral human development approach', published in June last year, the Atlantic Council, a US-based think tank, claimed that it was seeking 'a new approach to religious freedom that integrates it with integral human development (IHD)'. In a welcome departure from the earlier practice of demonising countries in the name of religious freedom, the report argued that religious freedom should not only be treated as a human right but also as 'a crucial component of overall human flourishing and sustainable development'. Religious freedom became a bogey to defame countries after the US Congress passed the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) in 1998 and created the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) to 'monitor, analyse and report on violations of religious freedom worldwide'. The commission's annual reports have acquired notoriety for misrepresenting facts, often with an alleged political bias, in branding several countries as 'Countries of Particular Concern' (CPCs). Several countries have questioned its locus standi in interfering in their sovereign affairs. India took an aggressive stand by refusing to recognise the commission and denying visas to its officials. Earlier this year, the Ministry of External Affairs not only rejected the commission's 2025 report, which included India as one of the CPCs, but went further to brand the commission an 'entity of concern'. The USCIRF's reports have no sanctity outside the four walls of the US Congress. Yet, they have helped create a 'religious freedom industry'. A breed of 'religious freedom ambassadors' has emerged in over 30 countries. Religious freedom, per se, is not contentious. Several democracies, including India, hold it as sacrosanct. Articles 25 to 30 of the Indian Constitution offer various freedoms to religions including the freedom of conscience, the right to freely profess, practice, and propagate, and the freedom to manage their affairs without state intervention. Minority religions enjoy positive discrimination by way of special rights to run educational and cultural institutions. The same rights are not available to the majority Hindu religion. India is the only country where people of all religions, including several Christian denominations and Muslim sects, coexist in harmony. It's not that there are no religious tensions, but they must be seen in the context of India's population of a billion-plus Hindus, almost 200 million Muslims and 40 million Christians. In its long history, Hindu society has endured enormous religious persecution by invading Mughal armies as well as violent religious inquisitions by Christian rulers like the Portuguese in Goa. The country was partitioned in 1947 on religious grounds after a brutal and violent campaign led by the Muslim League. That history has made the leaders of modern India recognise the need for strengthening the bond of national unity based not only on political and constitutional foundations but also on cultural and civilisational ethos. Religious bigotry and fundamentalism — majority or minority — were rejected and emphasis was laid on creating a national mainstream. For a vast and diverse country with a long history of religious strife, that's not an easy task. Yet, occasional outbursts notwithstanding, India has achieved commendable success in demonstrating unity and harmony. Still, India remained in the USCIRF's crosshairs. There are two important reasons for that bias. One is that the commission places its religious freedom discourse in a Eurocentric framework. It refuses to take into account country-specific sensitivities. Two, it relies on scholars who are reportedly biased. I was at a conference in Rome recently where the Atlantic Council's initiative to view religious freedom from the prism of integral human development was the central theme. Propounded first by Jacques Maritain, a French Catholic philosopher, in 1936, and followed three decades later by Deendayal Upadhyaya, the ideological father figure of the BJP, Integral humanism emphasises the need to rise above religions to secure not only the material but ethical, moral and spiritual well-being of individuals. It advocates a pluralistic approach for achieving such an integral development. It is imperative that the religious freedom discourse be situated in the national context to achieve a proper understanding of the role of religions in the integral growth of people. The Indian Constitution imposes reasonable restrictions on public order, morality and health on all fundamental rights, including the freedom of religion. That calls for religions that came from outside to internalise the cultural experience of India, in which pluralism and respect for all religions is an important basic principle. No religion can claim universality or superiority. Hence, in the Indian context, the religious narrative should shift from 'one god' to 'only god' — everything is divine — and 'one truth' to 'only truth'. Religious conversions are an important challenge in this context. In a landmark judgment in Rev. Stainislaus vs State of Madhya Pradesh (1977), the Supreme Court held that the right to 'propagate' does not include the right to proselytise and hence there is no fundamental right to convert another person. The Court clarified that it does not impinge on the freedom of conscience guaranteed by the Constitution, but rather, protects it. It may be worthwhile to recall that Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis had criticised proselytism, albeit in the limited context of Catholics being won over by other denominations. A proper understanding of the cultural and civilisational experiences of various nations helps in reframing the religious freedom discourse in the right perspective. Otherwise, the Atlantic Council's efforts will also be seen as 'a form of 'cultural imperialism' or a 'Western' endeavour with a hidden agenda', to borrow from its own report. The writer, president, India Foundation, is with the BJP. Views are personal
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Celebrating those who resisted invasions is not chauvinism — it's reclaiming history
Also by Shambo Samrat Samajdar India's civilisational journey is one of unparalleled continuity — its roots run deep, nourished by thousands of years of spiritual inquiry, scientific advancement and cultural sophistication. Yet, the collective memory of Hindu empires that upheld this tradition seems to have faded from mainstream consciousness. For a country that takes justifiable pride in its freedom fighters, why do we not celebrate the heroes who defended this land centuries ago? Why are names like Ghori, Babur, or Aurangzeb more familiar to students than Lalitaditya Muktapida, Vikramaditya, or Krishnadevaraya? What became of the festivals that once commemorated Hindu sovereignty, cultural flourishing, and spiritual freedom? This erasure was not accidental. Between the eighth and 16th centuries, India witnessed relentless waves of invasions. Its glorious temples — from Mathura to Somnath, Kashi to Vijayanagara —became the first targets of destruction. Over 12,000 temples are known to have been desecrated or demolished. Libraries were burned, idols mutilated, and scriptures lost. The purpose was not merely conquest — it was to uproot India's sacred geography and replace it with a different historical narrative. Yet, India did not submit. For every invader, there rose a guardian of dharma. The resistance was not episodic — it was inspired by a sense of cultural and spiritual responsibility. The Vijayanagara Empire, for example, stood as a southern bastion against centuries of Islamic expansion. Under Harihara, Bukka, and later, the legendary Krishnadevaraya, the empire became a lighthouse of Hindu polity, temple architecture, Sanskrit learning, and inclusive governance. Its capital, Hampi, rivalled the world's greatest cities. Its fall in the battle of Talikota (1565) was not just a geopolitical event — it was a civilisational rupture. But even from the ashes, the fire did not die. It flared once again in the heart of Maharashtra with the arrival of a lion-hearted warrior — Shivaji Maharaj. Shivaji was more than a military genius. He was a cultural visionary, a spiritual devotee, and a dharmic ruler. At a time when many Indian rulers had become vassals of invading powers, Shivaji declared swaraj — not just political independence, but a civilisational reclamation. He did not fight for territory alone. He fought for the right to worship freely, to rebuild temples, to protect women, to govern with justice, and to restore pride in the Hindu way of life. Shivaji's coronation in 1674 was an act of national renewal. Conducted by Vedic scholars with sacred rituals, it was a public declaration that the sanatan spirit of India still breathed. Shivaji's governance was marked by pluralism, meritocracy and spiritual grounding. He appointed Muslims to key positions and protected mosques while rebuilding destroyed temples, defending sacred spaces, and promoting Sanskrit. For him, the Hindu Rashtra was not a theological state, but a dharmic society based on ethics, justice, and cultural confidence. His message continues to echo: Freedom is sacred, and to defend it is the highest form of worship. If Shivaji was the sword of civilisational resistance, Swami Vivekananda was its thunderous voice in modern India. At the end of the 19th century, India was once again reeling — not under military invasion, but under psychological colonisation. Generations were taught to be ashamed of their roots, their gods, their texts, their identity. It was then that Swami Vivekananda stood at the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago (1893) and roared: 'I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance.' His mission was not just religious — it was political in the most profound sense. He reminded India of her true identity. He reminded us that behind every temple, every Upanishad, every raga and sculpture, there was a soul — a mighty civilisation that once led the world in knowledge, trade, ethics, and spiritual wisdom. To the youth, he said: 'Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached.' To patriots, he said: 'Serve the motherland as God.' To all Indians, he declared: 'Let new India arise — from the grocer's shop, from the huts of fishermen, the cobbler and the sweeper.' Vivekananda did not ask India to mimic the West. He asked her to be herself — to draw strength from her Vedas, her courage from her warriors, her inspiration from her sages. Modern India has made extraordinary strides. But even as we fly missions to the Moon and craft digital economies, our roots must remain nourished. It is time to reclaim the festivals of our civilisational pride, not in hatred or chauvinism, but in truth, remembrance, and gratitude. We must remember the Hindu empires, the philosopher-kings, the warrior-monks, and the temple-builders who preserved the flame of Bharat through the darkest nights of history. This is not about rewriting history. It is about restoring balance, giving the rightful place to chapters long suppressed, and telling our children that before India was colonised, she was sovereign, scholarly, sacred, and strong. Let us walk forward — empowered not only by economic progress but by civilisational consciousness. Let Shivaji's sword and Vivekananda's voice guide us in tandem. Samajdar is clinical pharmacologist and diabetes and allergy-asthma therapeutics specialist in Kolkata. Joshi is a Mumbai-based endocrinologist
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Time of India
Maharashtra: After 'no non-Hindus' call, Shani temple fires 114 Muslim staff
Maharashtra: After 'no non-Hindus' call, Shani temple fires 114 Muslim staff NASHIK: The trust managing the Shani Shingnapur shrine in Maharashtra 's Ahilyanagar has recently laid off 167 staffers on "disciplinary grounds". Of them, 114 (68%) are Muslims, a temple source said. The trust, Shri Shaneshwar Devasthan, has attributed the sackings to "non-performance and long absenteeism" but not cited any specific reasons. The staffers, working for 2-10 years, were sacked in two rounds on June 8 and June 13. An outfit named Sakal Hindu Samaj had threatened a protest on June 14 demanding removal of non-Hindus working in the shrine in Shanishingnapur. This followed a viral video in May showing a man, purportedly not a Hindu, carrying out painting work at the shrine. Devasthan CEO Gorakshanath Darandale justified the removals and denied bias. "There is no question of discrimination in the action. Those removed are from different faiths. The action was strictly disciplinary in nature. Over 2,400 employees work with Devasthan. Many do not report to work. Devasthan had held back their salaries and served show-cause notices. This is the first batch against whom action has been taken," Darandale said. Another senior Devasthan official said those sacked "were engaged in agriculture, waste management and education departments of the temple trust". "Some have been absent from work for five months."
