Nabaranpur: The family of former MLA Sadasiva Pradhani is allegedly facing ostracism from Bhatra community in Odisha’s Nabarangpur over his daughter’s marriage outside the caste.
The community leaders viewed it as a violation of traditional endogamous norms. The decision was taking during a meeting of the Akhil Bharatiya Bhatra Vikas Parishad held on Saturday at the Maa Danteshwari temple in Dhamanaguda village, under Dabugaon police limits.
According to sources, Pradhani’s daughter is scheduled to marry a groom from a Brahmin family in Jeypore, with the engagement ceremony having taken place in February and the wedding planned for April. Community members alleged that the inter-caste union contravenes long standing Bhatra customs, prompting the unanimous resolution to ostracise Pradhani and his immediate family socially.
The meeting saw participation from several key figures, including district president Jagannath Majhi and secretary Pratap Chandra Nayak and various block-level presidents. The Bhatra community, a Scheduled Tribe group primarily residing in parts of Odisha and neighbouring states, places strong emphasis on intra-community marriages to preserve cultural identity and social cohesion. A letter on the same was reportedly handed over to the ex-MLA.
Pradhani, who previously represented the Nabarangpur constituency in the Odisha Legislative Assembly from 2019-2024, could not be reached for comment at the time of reporting.
