What Does It Say About Society When We Become Cruel To The Voiceless?
Take a walk through any town or city in Odisha today and you may notice something troubling.
Stray dogs being kicked away.
Animals being beaten for entering a market.
Injured cattle left unattended on roads.
Birds trapped in plastic waste.
Many people simply walk past these scenes without a second thought.
Perhaps the most worrying part is that such incidents no longer shock us as much as they should.
A society is often judged by how it treats its most vulnerable members.
That principle applies not only to people but also to animals that cannot speak, complain or defend themselves.
The way we treat the voiceless says a great deal about who we are.
For generations, Odisha’s villages and towns shared a close relationship with animals. Cattle were part of households. Stray dogs were often fed by neighbourhoods. Birds, animals and humans coexisted as part of everyday life.
Things seem to be changing.
Urbanisation, busy lifestyles and growing individualism have made many people less patient and less compassionate. In some cases, cruelty is even recorded and shared on social media as entertainment.
This should concern all of us.
Cruelty towards animals is rarely just about animals.
It reflects a gradual erosion of empathy.
When people stop caring about suffering they can see, it becomes easier to ignore suffering they cannot.
Compassion is not weakness.
It is one of the foundations of a civilized society.
Teaching children to be kind to animals teaches them responsibility, empathy and respect for life itself.
Likewise, normalising cruelty teaches entirely different lessons.
No society becomes more developed by becoming less humane.
Better roads, bigger buildings and faster economic growth are important. But development also requires values.
A truly progressive Odisha must be known not only for its achievements but also for its compassion.
The next time we encounter an injured animal, an abandoned puppy or a hungry stray, we should ask ourselves a simple question.
What kind of society are we helping to create?
One that ignores suffering?
Or one that chooses kindness when kindness costs very little?
The answer will shape far more than the lives of animals.
It will shape the character of our society itself.
