Tag: Konark

Defence Analyst Abhijit Iyer-Mitra Released From Odisha Jail

Iyer-Mitra was arrested on October 23 on the basis of two FIRs filed against him for allegedly passing derogatory remarks against Odisha, its people, Konark temple and Jagannath.

Bhubaneswar: Delhi-based defence analyst Abhijit Iyer-Mitra was on Thursday released from the Odisha jail after he was granted bail by two courts in Konark and Bhubaneswar.

The Orissa high court granted him bail on December 5. He was released from judicial custody after 44 days.

Iyer-Mitra was granted conditional bail by the court of the judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) at Konark in Puri district and the sub-divisional judicial magistrate (SDJM), Bhubaneswar, in Khurda district earlier on Thursday.

Both the courts granted bail to Iyer-Mitra with a personal bond of Rs 20,000 each and on the condition that he would never resort to anti-Odisha remarks in the future.

The Orissa high court, while granting bail to Iyer-Mitra on Monday, had ruled that the two lower courts can grant bail to him on conditions.

Also Read: Jailed in Odisha for Twitter Joke and Denied Bail, Analyst Now Hospitalised

Iyer-Mitra was arrested on October 23 on the basis of two FIRs filed against his name for allegedly passing derogatory remarks against Odisha, its people, Konark temple and Jagannath.

Iyer-Mitra left for the Biju Patnaik International Airport from the Capital Hospital, where he was undergoing treatment since Sunday.

The Odisha government on December 4 had accepted Iyer-Mitra’s appeal and decided not to accord sanction of his prosecution.

He was admitted to a hospital here on December 2 after he complained of acute stomach ache.

Iyer-Mitra’s advocate Nikhil Mehera said that his client would proceed to Chennai to meet his mother.

Odisha CM Alleges Irregularities in ASI’s Restoration of Konark Sun Temple

The ASI has been accused of vitiating the historic significance of the temple by replacing its original stone carvings with plain ones.

New Delhi: The ongoing controversy surrounding Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)’s restoration of the Konark Sun Temple is scaling up. On Saturday, Odisha chief minister wrote to Union minister for culture, Mahesh Sharma alleging that 40% of the old stone carvings of the temple have been replaced with “plain stones” by the ASI, Indian Express reported.

In his letter, chief minister Naveen Patnaik expressed concerns that the 13th-century UNESCO World Heritage Site is being stripped of its traditional Odia symbolism. Patnaik added that the carvings on the temple were idiomatic of Odia tradition and were “embellished with sophisticated and refined iconographical depictions of contemporary life and activities”.

It has also been alleged that the stones used for restoration do not match the original stone blocks, which are still available in the nearby Pathar Bhua Canal.

Patnaik requested Mahesh Sharma to order an inquiry into the matter and urge the ASI to take all necessary measures for preserving and conserving the monument.

However, ASI superintendent Arun Mallick maintains that no carvings or tiles have been replaced. And that the ASI has only filled up the empty spaces in the structure with plain stones. This has reportedly been done in accordance with clause 5.03 of the National Conservation Policy, which bars any attempt to restore an entire building as it would “falsify history and compromise its authenticity”.

Also read: Supreme Court Pulls up ASI for Failing to Take Steps to Preserve Taj Mahal

According to the ASI clarification which came a day later, the restoration process did not violate rules or guidelines. Furthermore, citing UNESCO guidelines on restoration of World Heritage Sites, ASI officials drew attention to the mandate that prevents replication of lost original carvings.

The dispute has also spilled over to restoration process of Humayun’s Tomb, which replicated original stones in the monument. Odisha tourism minister Ashok Panda has asked if the rules of restoring historic monuments were subverted in Humayun’s Tomb, why can the same not be done in restoring the Sun Temple? A section of historians and conservationists support the idea of replicating original carvings to fill up the empty spaces in the structure.

Though the Aga Khan Foundation lobbied for replicating the carvings in Humayun’s Tomb, concerns that replicating original carvings could cost the Sun Temple its heritage tag continue to remain. However, Panda has said that the government will request the ASI to replace damaged stones with new, sculpturally designed stones.

Treating this as a highly sensitive matter, State Convenor for the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, Ameya Bhushan Tripathy said that the ASI director general “will be invited after December 15 to settle this matter”.

The chief minister is also planning to set up an expert committee to look into the matter.

No Relief from SC for Analyst Who Joked About Konark Temple

Noting that Abhijit Iyer-Mitra’s remarks about the temple had incited religious feelings, a bench led by CJI Ranjan Gogoi refused to intervene.

New Delhi: Two weeks after security analyst and media commentator Abhijit Iyer-Mitra was arrested by the Delhi police for allegedly making derogatory remarks about Odisha’s famous Sun Temple at Konark, the Supreme Court denied him protection from arrest.

The decision was taken by the bench headed by newly-appointed Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.

When Iyer-Mitra’s counsel argued that his life may be under threat, the CJI was quoted by PTI as saying, “If your client is facing threats, there is no better place than jail.”

Noting that Iyer-Mitra’s remarks about the temple had incited religious feelings, the bench dismissed his bail petition and said that prison would be the safest place for him for now. Iyer-Mitra had previously been granted bail on a bond of Rs 1 lakh by a Delhi court, and that protection was coming to an end on October 5.

Also read: Odisha Police Arrest Commentator for Satirical Video on Konark Monument

Odisha police had earlier told the court that Mitra “gave unpalatable and irresponsible remarks on [the] Konark Sun Temple by uploading his views on social media with an intention to outrage and to wound religious feeling which may create communal fraction”. The police said the “accused took his photograph along with some portion of Konark Sun Temple and he tweeted against the Odiya people”. The tweets were made on September 14.

The accompanying video, however, made it clear Iyer-Mitra was speaking in jest.

Iyer-Mitra was accompanying former BJD leader Baijayant Panda and another journalist, Aarti Tikoo Singh, in a chopper when he shot the video. Panda, who is a licensed helicopter pilot, had taken the two for a flight over the Sun Temple, the Jagannath Temple, Puri and Chilika Lake.

Iyer-Mitra’s comments had sparked a furore in the Odisha assembly. The speaker even constituted a house committee to probe the matter. The leader of opposition in the Odisha Assembly and Congress member Narasingha Mishra had said: “There are two video clips that show a non-Odia, RSS man standing in front of the Konark temple making comments… Abhijit Iyer’s remarks have disrespected and hurt the sentiments of the people of Odisha and the Odia language. He should be summoned to the state, and the House should decide on the quantum of punishment.”

A case was filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on the ground of religion, grace, place of birth, residence, language etc) and 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs). If convicted, the accused may get a maximum of three-year jail term.

Odisha Police Arrest Commentator for Satirical Video on Konark Monument

Journalist and security analyst Abhijit Iyer-Mitra was arrested by the Delhi police on Thursday for his remarks about the Sun Temple, after his video caused an uproar in the Odisha assembly.

New Delhi: Journalist and security analyst Abhijit Iyer-Mitra has become the latest victim of the growing tendency of law enforcement authorities across India to criminalise free speech, with the police arresting him on Thursday for allegedly making derogatory remarks about Odisha’s famous Sun Temple at Konark.

Hours after being picked up by the Delhi police, he was granted bail until September 28.

Earlier in the day, opposition parties in Odisha created a furore in the assembly to push the Biju Janata Dal-led state government to investigate the matter, as they felt it “hurt the religious sentiments” of the Odia people.  

OTV reported that following the assembly debate debate led by the Congress leader and currently the leader of opposition, Narasingha Mishra, speaker Pradip Amat “approved the proposal for a house committee to investigate the matter”.

Iyer-Mitra’s lawyer, Nikhil Mehra, confirmed to The Wire that he was arrested in Delhi.

The outcry over his comments started on September 15 when the analyst posted a video on social media of himself standing in front of some friezes making the following comment in Hindi, tongue firmly in cheek:

“Bhaiyon aur behanon. I am in Odisha’s famous Konark Temple. This is not a temple but a humple where people are humping. See these sculptures… Women with women, men with animals. Can this be a holy place? Not al all. This is a conspiracy against Hindus by Muslims who want to keep us down! I want to only say Jai Sriram! In our new Ram Temple, such obscene sculptures will not be there!”

The English translation does not capture the satirical nature of the Hindi comment, which is evident in the video, which ends with some off camera laughter.

Iyer-Mitra was accompanying former BJD leader Baijayant Panda and another journalist, Aarti Tikoo Singh, in a chopper when he shot the video. Panda, who is a licensed helicopter pilot, had taken the two for a flight over the Sun Temple, the Jagannath Temple, Puri and Chilika Lake.

Soon after he posted the video, BJD and Congress MLAs created an uproar, claiming that he had hurt the pride and religious sentiments of Odisha, and demanded action against him. Their campaign spilled over to an assembly discussion and later led to his arrest. Panda’s chopper was also seized by the Odisha police for allegedly flying over the Chilika Lake, an eco-sensitive zone.

Both Panda and Aarti Tikoo Singh came to his defence:

Panda, too, accused the Odisha government of high-handedness and trying to “handicap his movement”.

“Given the fact that Panda is now opposed to both the BJD and the Congress, it appears Abhijit became the fall guy for accompanying Panda and making those remarks,” a senior journalist in Bhubaneswar told The Wire, on the condition of anonymity.

He said the claim that Iyer-Mitra’s comment hurt religious sentiment seems implausible as the Sun Temple no longer even functions as a temple. “It is only a tourist site. No worship happens there. Both Konark and Khajuraho depict Indian sexuality from the ancient past. Everyone knows that. To make it a political issue, and then a police case, is stretching the issue a little too far,” he added.  

The fact that BJD and Congress MLAs both went after Iyer-Mitra suggests wider political factors may be at play. Joint dharnas were also also staged by the Congress and BJD inside the premises of the assembly. The leader of opposition then moved a privilege motion against Iyer-Mitra and the speaker approved it. The speaker has also constituted a committee headed by Mishra to probe the matter further.  

BJD and Congress MLAs also saw an RSS hand in defaming the Sun Temple. BJD MLA Sanjay Dasburma said, “It (Iyer-Mitra’s video) is an insult to the state and its existence. Action should be taken against the man.”

Similarly, Narasingha Mishra said, “There are two video clips which show a non-Odia, RSS man standing in front of Konark Temple making comments… Remarks of Abhijit Iyer have disrespected and hurt the sentiments of the people of Odisha and Odia language. He should be summoned to the state and the house should decide on the quantum of punishment.”

The BJP in Odisha, meanwhile, has said that Iyer-Mitra is not a BJP member and urged political parties to refrain from making the issue political.