D uring the Durga Puja immersion procession in early October, a communal clash between Hindus and Muslims broke out in the ancient city of Cuttack, Odisha. According to reports, around 40 shops were burnt down in Dargah Bazar, a predominantly Muslim locality, leading the administration to impose a curfew for several days and arrest more than a dozen people.

This marks the second instance of communal unrest under the incumbent BJP government, which came to power in 2024 after dislodging the BJD. The first communal clash under the new regime occurred in Bhadrak in September 2024.

The last time Cuttack saw such violence was in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992, under the Biju Patnaik government. The latest incident bears an eerie resemblance to the pattern of riots unfol

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