Clashes were reported between rationalists and ritualists in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar and Berhampur districts over a biryani feast on lunar eclipse day. Bajrang Dal activists and ritualists scuffle at Lohia Academy in Bhubaneswar. Similar tension was witnessed in Berhampur as the police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the crowd.
As per reports, the members of the rationalist group had organised a biryani feast at the academy. When the ritualists and some members of an organisation reached there and opposed the feast during the eclipse, the situation turned violent as the ritualists attacked the rationalists. They also reportedly threw cow dung and pelted stones at them. Sloganeering also reportedly took place during the brawl with one side raising Jai Shri Ram slogans and the other side retaliating with their slogans.
Later, police reached the spot and brought the situation under control. Similarly, a chicken feast was also arranged at Dharma Vihar of Khandagir in Bhubaneswar. Police detained some protesters in this incident.
Himanshu Hota said, “It is anti-ritual and against our culture. It is spreading negative messages in society. So, we will oppose the feast in the public place."
On the other hand, Bajrang Dal and other organisations strongly protested the biryani feast in Berhampur. A group of Brahman Samaj members took out a march in front of the food stalls where the biryani feast was being organised. A violent clash also erupted later as both sides engaged in scuffle. Police reportedly resorted to mild lathi-charge to control the situation and prevent any major flare up. Rationalist group has filed a case in Badabazar Police station of Berhampur.
Biranchi Narayan Rout said, “Eating food during lunar eclipse has no negative impact and the protest is baseless. It is their own choice to eat vegetarian or non-vegetarian during the lunar eclipse. No one can refrain us and be forced to accept their thoughts and beliefs."
Earlier, during the solar eclipse also, the rationalists had arranged a non-veg biryani feast in Bhubaneswar and Berhampur which had kicked up the row.
(with inputs from Soubhagya Ranjan Mishra, Sumant Sundaray, Mahesh Nanda, Ajesh Mallick, Dipak Samal and Kailash Behera)
https://www.news18.com/news/india/c...bhubaneswar-berhampur-case-filed-6338365.html
To understand why Upper caste society escpecially Brahmans hate Lohia anti-caste ideology
Lohia Line on Destruction of the Caste System
Dr Rammanohar Lohia was the theorist of seven revolutions in the context of creating a new world order on the basis of socialism. The programme of seven revolutions included confrontation with discrimination and deprivations based upon caste, class, race, gender and nationality. He wanted to give a new direction to the movement for socialism by giving equal emphasis to the struggles against sexism, class and caste-based exploitations.
https://mainstreamweekly.net/article1242.html
As per reports, the members of the rationalist group had organised a biryani feast at the academy. When the ritualists and some members of an organisation reached there and opposed the feast during the eclipse, the situation turned violent as the ritualists attacked the rationalists. They also reportedly threw cow dung and pelted stones at them. Sloganeering also reportedly took place during the brawl with one side raising Jai Shri Ram slogans and the other side retaliating with their slogans.
Later, police reached the spot and brought the situation under control. Similarly, a chicken feast was also arranged at Dharma Vihar of Khandagir in Bhubaneswar. Police detained some protesters in this incident.
Himanshu Hota said, “It is anti-ritual and against our culture. It is spreading negative messages in society. So, we will oppose the feast in the public place."
On the other hand, Bajrang Dal and other organisations strongly protested the biryani feast in Berhampur. A group of Brahman Samaj members took out a march in front of the food stalls where the biryani feast was being organised. A violent clash also erupted later as both sides engaged in scuffle. Police reportedly resorted to mild lathi-charge to control the situation and prevent any major flare up. Rationalist group has filed a case in Badabazar Police station of Berhampur.
Biranchi Narayan Rout said, “Eating food during lunar eclipse has no negative impact and the protest is baseless. It is their own choice to eat vegetarian or non-vegetarian during the lunar eclipse. No one can refrain us and be forced to accept their thoughts and beliefs."
Earlier, during the solar eclipse also, the rationalists had arranged a non-veg biryani feast in Bhubaneswar and Berhampur which had kicked up the row.
(with inputs from Soubhagya Ranjan Mishra, Sumant Sundaray, Mahesh Nanda, Ajesh Mallick, Dipak Samal and Kailash Behera)
https://www.news18.com/news/india/c...bhubaneswar-berhampur-case-filed-6338365.html
To understand why Upper caste society escpecially Brahmans hate Lohia anti-caste ideology
The ideas of Dr B.R. Ambedkar and Ram Manohar Lohia have been the driving force for Dalit and lower-caste movements, respectively. It is strange that despite they being contemporaries and with similar agendas of fighting the caste system there has hardly been any attempts to find intersections in their thinking
https://www.forwardpress.in/2017/07/locating-caste-in-the-philosophies-of-ambedkar-and-lohia/Lohia Line on Destruction of the Caste System
Dr Rammanohar Lohia was the theorist of seven revolutions in the context of creating a new world order on the basis of socialism. The programme of seven revolutions included confrontation with discrimination and deprivations based upon caste, class, race, gender and nationality. He wanted to give a new direction to the movement for socialism by giving equal emphasis to the struggles against sexism, class and caste-based exploitations.https://mainstreamweekly.net/article1242.html
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