Only one Jagannath Dham: Puri Gajapati
Bhubaneswar: Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb of Puri on Saturday said appropriate steps would be taken regarding the use of the term 'Dham' by the West Bengal government for the recently inaugurated temple in Digha.
Gajapati Maharaja, who is the Chairman of Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee in Puri, said this while responding to a request by Padma awardee sand sculptor Sudarsan Pattnaik. Sudarsan has urged the Gajapati to come forward and protect the dignity of the Jagannath Dham. 'The act of the West Bengal Chief Minister has deeply hurt the religious sentiments of millions of Lord Jagannath's devotees around the world.
According to our sacred scriptures (Shastras), there is only one organised Jagannath Dham, and it is in Puri. Using this revered title for any other location could cause religious confusion and go against the long-standing spiritual traditions and cultural heritage of Hinduism,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
6 hours ago
- The Hindu
Tirupati laddu row: Kiran Rayal demands arrest of TTD former Executive Officer Dharma Reddy
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) former Executive Officer Dharma Reddy, who allegedly played a key role in the adulterated ghee case, should be arrested by the police, Jana Sena Party (JSP) Tirupati in-charge Kiran Rayal demanded the state government. Addressing a press conference in Tirupati on Saturday (June 7, 2025), he said, 'Six months ago, Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu had raised the issue of adulterated ghee used in laddu prasadam at Tirumala temple. Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan remained silent as the sentiments of Hindus get hurt.' 'As an Executive Officer, Dharma Reddy had played a key role in all departments of the TTD. No files could move without his permission. Why he didn't examine the quality of the ghee,' Mr. Rayal questioned. Raising slogan 'Dharma Reddy Gang Hatao, TTD Bachao', he alleged, 'The previous government did not supply ghee to Tirumala, instead they have sent palm oil mixed with chemicals and animal fat. This is a complete attempt to attack Hinduism. Such people should be hanged.' 'Tirumala laddu has a patent and also a special history. The TTD board members who acted as members of the purchasing committee should also be investigated,' the JSP leader said, announcing to write a letter to CM and Deputy CM to probe into Dharma Reddy's role in ghee adulteration.
New Indian Express
6 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Free speech and criticism in the age of hurting sentiments
How can one predict what will hurt the sentiments of someone or another? Anyone can claim that his or her sentiment is hurt because of some statement or act of another person. Is there a sentiment meter that has been developed to measure how much sentiment is hurt over some social media post or a remark in an interview by random individuals? Is your religion, language, and culture of many thousands of years so fragile that you feel so insecure, weepy and murderous about a remark by a stranger? I wonder how Adi Shankaracharya would have fared in modern-day India if he continued to criticise, debate, and win arguments like he did against various philosophies and religions of his time. Would a Prince Sidhhartha, who criticised the Vedas, ever become Buddha or rot in jail without bail, had he been a citizen of the secular, democratic, socialist republic of India instead of living 2,600 years ago? In a civilised society, if sentiment is hurt, one would ignore such comments or criticise back. In theocratic autocracies, blasphemy is punishable by death. We are marching there from the light of Buddha, Gandhi, Shankara and countless other great souls. Indian culture was based on free speech and debates. The freedom to criticise, debate, discuss and even mock or deny is what made the Indian religions like Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism unique. Had I been born 200 years ago and lived under the King of Cochin or the East India Company, I would have said we are far removed from that classical society and are so near to the witch hunts of medieval Europe or those of Islamic theocracies like Afghanistan. However, since that statement might hurt someone somewhere in these times, and I am scared, I am apologising profusely and sincerely in advance. Everything is perfect, and we are living in golden times.
India Gazette
19 hours ago
- India Gazette
Nishikant Dubey hits back at Rahul Gandhi: 'Read 1975 Allahabad HC judgment to see how Indira Gandhi
New Delhi [India], June 7 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nishikant Dubey on Saturday hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his accusation that the 2024 Maharashtra assembly election was 'rigged' in favour of the BJP. Dubey urged the Congress leader to read the 1975 judgement of the Allahabad High Court to know how his grandmother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi 'fixed' and 'stole' the 1971 Lok Sabha elections to win from the Rae Bareli constituency in Uttar Pradesh. 'Rahul Baba, how is the election fixed or stolen? Read the exploits of your grandmother, Indira Gandhi, which is the judgment of the Allahabad High Court,' Dubey said in a post on X. 'The army and its helicopters were used in the 1971 elections. Liquor and clothes were openly distributed during the election of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi 3. Ask for votes in the name of Hinduism. Voters were brought in vehicles. Money is distributed indiscriminately. Government employees engaged in an election campaign. You create the election drama, your family ruins the country, and you will not get the liberty to loot the elections anymore,' he added. In the judgement, the Allahabad High Court held that Indira Gandhi was guilty of electoral malpractices, and disqualified her from holding public office for 6 years. On Saturday, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Maharashtra assembly election held in November 2024 was 'rigged', and claimed that the same will be repeated in Bihar assembly polls due later this year. In a post on X, Gandhi shared his article published in a newspaper, explaining the 'rigging' in the Maharashtra assembly polls. 'Maharashtra assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy. My article shows how this happened, step by step,' Gandhi said on X. The former Congress President explained a five-point process. He said that step one includes rigging the panel that appoints the Election Commission, followed by adding fake voters to the electoral roll. He further claimed that the next steps include inflating the voter turnout, targeting the bogus voting exactly where the BJP needs to win and hiding the evidence. 'Step 1: Rig the panel for appointing the Election Commission; Step 2: Add fake voters to the roll; Step 3: Inflate voter turnout; Step 4: Target the bogus voting exactly where BJP needs to win; Step 5: Hide the evidence,' Gandhi said. He further labelled rigging as 'match-fixing', saying that the side cheats might win the game but damage institutions and destroy public faith in the result. 'It's not hard to see why the BJP was so desperate in Maharashtra. But rigging is like match-fixing - the side that cheats might win the game, but will damage institutions and destroy public faith in the result. All concerned Indians must see the evidence. Judge for themselves. Demand answers,' the Rae Bareli MP said. Gandhi warned that the 'match-fixing' of Maharashtra would come to Bihar next, where the polls are due later this year, and then 'anywhere' the BJP was losing elections. 'Match-fixed elections are a poison for any democracy,' he added. The Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024 witnessed a decisive victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance, securing a landslide win with 235 seats. The results marked a significant milestone for the BJP, which emerged as the single-largest party with 132 seats. (ANI)
