Tribal family ostracised for not serving liquor in last rites feast in Odisha
Baripada (Odisha), Jun 9 (PTI): A tribal couple and its three children have allegedly been ostracised by the villagers for not serving 'handia' (traditional rice beer) in the last rites feast held after the death of a 67-year-old man of the family in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, police said on Monday.
It is a practice in various tribal societies to serve 'handia' to people attending the feast organised as part of the last rites.
It is alleged that the villagers are not allowing the family members to take water from village ponds or tubewells or purchase groceries from shops.
Following a complaint lodged by the deceased man's son, a police team went to their village and asked the villagers to sort out the matter within two days or face legal action.
Ram Soren of Kesapada village under Sarat Police Station limit died on March 27 and the members of the Santhal community observed the rituals according to tradition.
Soren's son Sangram organised a community feast a month later as per tradition on April 27.
However, he did not serve ‘handia’ in the feast to the villagers following which he, his wife Lachha and their children have allegedly been socially boycotted.
In a complaint lodged at Sarat Police Station, Sangram and his wife charged the villagers with denying them access to resources like water from ponds or tubewells, and even to village grocery shops.
“This is not all, the villagers also do not speak to us including my children. We are not even given work by the villagers making our life miserable,” Sangram’s wife Lachha Soren told reporters.
The couple has three children - a 13-year-old daughter and two sons aged 8 and 5 years.
She claimed that a person spoke to them and has been told to pay a penalty of Rs 2,000 for violating the community’s social boycott order.
Asked about the reason behind not going by the tradition of serving liquor at the feast, Sangram said, “My father was a habitual alcoholic for which he died early. We have seen tribal families getting ruined due to alcoholism. Therefore, I decided not to serve Handia in the feast.”
Sangram in his police complaint named three village seniors for ostracising his family.
When contacted, a priest of the Santhal community said, “We have the tradition of offering Handia to the departed soul during funeral rituals. But there is no religious norm to serve it to people in the community feast. It all depends on the economic condition of the deceased person’s family. They may serve Handia if they desire, but they cannot be forced.”
Handia is a traditional alcoholic rice beer popular among tribal communities in Eastern and North-Eastern India, particularly in states like Odisha, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.
Meanwhile, a team headed by Sarat Police Station in-charge Ramakanta Patra visited the village and discussed the matter with the villagers.
“We held a long discussion with the villagers and apprised them that they cannot socially ostracise any family for any reason. The police have given them two days to resolve the matter amicably,” Patra told reporters.
If the matter is not resolved within the community members at the village level, the police might have to take legal action, Patra said.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
