OrissaMatters

Suchismita Pattanayak

India is a democracy. Democracy depends upon informed participation of citizens in control and management of the affairs the nation. For informed participation it is essential that the citizens should be able to receive, perceive, interpret and share information. Audio reception of information would not help; because there could be such information, which should need juxtaposition with related information and with relevant documents as otherwise the same information may mislead. Newspapers and journals, which are important sources of information are usually available in print ad one must be able to read in order to receive information through the print media. Another important source of is the internet through which news portals are available. But again, to receive information through the news portals, one is to read. Indian constitution has made provisions for statutory audit of government expenditures so that the peoples can be informed of how the administration executes its responsibilities. The statutory audits are conducted by the Chief Accountant General and the reports thereof are placed before the Parliament and the respective Assemblies and then the citizenry is expected to watch the official actions on these reports. But to do this the audit reports and action taken reports are to be read. In order to help people receive whatever information they need to evaluate official action in depth, Right to Information Act has been framed and enforced in India. But to know as to which would be helpful information in this regards and to know as to what information emanates, one is to read. On the other hand, watching administration is not the whole thing in life of a person and in life of a nation. People must know the history of their land to understand how the society has evolved so that a better society may be built up. They are to read history. The same is in respect of tradition and culture and literature and Laws. The same is also applicable to areas of industry and agriculture, trade and commerce; cooperation and civil administration. So one is to read to rise to become a responsible citizen for making the country a better place to live in.

Illiterates cannot read. Therefore illiteracy needs to be eliminated. Schools have the most major and relevant role in this respect.

Despite planned approach to eliminate illiteracy, literacy has not grown as expected.
Orissa may be cited as an example.

An average of figures indicated by various agencies indicate that 70 per cent of Orissa’s Schedule caste and Schedule Tribe people constituting 43 percent of her population are illiterate. 30 percent of OBC that constitutes 50 percent of Orissa’s population is also illiterate.

Incentives like midday meals and free textbooks etc are failing to stop the flow of school dropouts.

WHY IT IS SO?

Unemployment and lack of the scope of employment of parents is the most major cause of children of school-going age not at all going to schools and dropping out of schools. The ever-increasing numbers of child labor is indicative of this.

In most of the cases, poor children act as babysitters in their huts at the behest of their parents who in search of daily wages acquiesce into drudgery or in search of food, rush into jungles leaving the tiny kids in the care of elder babies. This unavoidable babysitting pushes children of poor families into illiteracy in rural areas.

It is also remarkable that lack of confidence in children of poor families is also a factor of illiteracy. The poor children are often not encouraged to mingle with school children belonging to advantaged families. Thereby a sort of inferior feeling gets injected into their psyche and they fail to acquire courage to aspire for education. This negative trend also spreads illiteracy.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF THE TREND CONTINUES?

Unless this trend is stopped, Indian democracy will be in serious doldrums. As the children shaken by the feeling of inferiority would grow, the psychological gap between them and the advantages children will grow. India can never be a country of equals at least in feeling for the country. It would end up in class wars.

On the other hand, democracy will never get informed participation, as most of the major citizens, bereft of ability to read and receive and analyze information relating to nation building, shall limit their activities to casting their uninformed votes. So majority participation in Indian democracy would be unconcerned participation and that would never be good for the country’s health.

Educated people can manage their hearths and health by themselves without being dependants on the state on every occasion, which the illiterate people can’t. As the global scenario indicates, state role will be diminished in societal management. In that condition, educated people may overcome hurdles and manage themselves. Uneducated people will perish and consequently become the society’s worst detractions.

So, it is time, the advantaged people must address themselves to elimination of illiteracy and for availability of education to all.

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?

In this respect, Schools have the best role to play.

The Society should encourage the schools to educate their pupils to cultivate fellow feeling for the disadvantaged children.

Every student should be encouraged to adopt a poor child of his locality to literate him or her. As age factor would eliminate the communication gap between them, it would give a positive opportunity to educate the disadvantaged child.

Schools may make this essential role of a student a part of examinational incentives so that every student who makes a child of his locality literate would be rewarded with higher marks are certificates of excellence. What the mid day meals etc are unable to generate – in study aptitude – the students of the schools can do, even as they shall be, thereby, growing as responsible citizens, highly concerned for fellow beings of the society.

The schools, on the other hand, can press its faculty and library to help the environment of mutual trust and cooperation grow in the field of education.

Holidays and vacations may be best used for generation of contact between the school and the members of the society and a collective endeavor to make every body educated may be generated for all round development of all.

But would the planners and intellectuals interact and help how the process should be formulated?

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

With this site exposing how Buddhists all over the world have failed to honor canonical instruction for paying homage to Gurudev Buddha in the place of his birth at least once in life, as they are misled by a historical mischief placing his birthplace in Nepal, there was a short-lived but acrimonious shrill of protest in a section of global media following which a new wave of academic activities has commenced flowing with incisive interest to find out if Orissa’s claim is correct.

We are sure, the truth must prevail and the future world shall surely accept Kapilavastu of Tosala, converted to present day Kapileswar near Bhubaneswar, as the real birthplace of Buddha; because that is his birthplace.

Intellectuals who are seriously pursuing this issue are active in different parts of the glove. One of these truth seekers is Sri Ajit Kumar Tripathy, an IAS officer, currently the Chief Secretary of Orissa. He has published two booklets on Buddha’s birthplace abridging the research work of late Pandit Chakradhar Mohapatra, who was the first to revive the status of Kapileswar as the birthplace Kapilavastu of Buddha.

Produced with clarity and in eloquent English, the two booklets, while acknowledging the contributions of Mohapatra, inasmuch as the author telling us that he “does not claim any original research on the subject of birthplace of Gautam Buddha but he has arranged the materials systematically often using the same language in the book of Sri Chakradhar Mohapatra” (preface to Goutam Buddha and Kalinga), it is clear from the steps Tripathy has taken that he has gone through the findings of Mohapatra quite seriously and juxtaposing them with materials and observations of eminent scholars beyond Mohapatra, has been convinced that yesterday’s Kapilavastu is today’s Kapileswar and therefore, by systematically abridging the arguments Mohapatra in his two booklets has advanced, he has added authenticity to his finding.

Students of history all over the world would be glad to note that Tripathy’s step is a positive step towards making history arrive at the truth in the matter of Orissa being Buddha’s birthplace.

As initiator of global debate in this matter we offer our thanks to Mr. Tripathy.

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Netizens of Orissa have won again. The Central Government has accepted their demand and has declared to establish one IIT, one world-class University and a Central University in Orissa during the 11th Five Year Plan. When Bhubaneswar has been declared the seat of the world-class University, choice of site for the IIT and the Central University has been left to the State Government.

But the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of HRD has made it clear that notwithstanding the decision, establishment of these centers of academic excellence “is subject to State Government offering adequate land at suitable locations, free of cost, for the purpose”.

Orissa had lost the National Institute of Science to West Bengal, as the State Government did not offer land for it in time. That the Science Institute finally came to us in the form of National Institute of Science Education & Research is because of unprecedented campaign by the netizens of Orissa whereto the MPs, the Assembly, the entire Oriya intelligentsia irrespective of land of residence had added their total support. Had netizens not taken up the issue, Navin administration was so negligent, the central government could not have been compelled to establish the NISER in Orissa.

In view of this experience it is essential that the State Government rise promptly to the occasion and offer land for the three Institutes without loss of time.

On enquiry it transpires that it is news to the Higher Education Department of Government of Orissa. This indicates that the State Government has no concern as yet for these Central Institutes. The Union Ministry of HRD has never come to the decision to offer these Institutes to various States including Orissa overnight. In fact, central decision to establish eight IITs has long since been on records inasmuch as locations of four of them, one each in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Himachal Pradesh have already been announced. Had Orissa Government acted watchfully, taking the cue, it should have already kept the lands ready to offer for the purpose. But busy in finding and offering land to Anil Agrawal, Ravishankar gangs it has not yet thought of locating and reserving land for the Central Institutes and Universities.

The Central Government, in a press release today, has stated, “actual establishment of these institutions would however depend, among other things, on how quickly the concerned State Government responds by allotting adequate land at suitable locations”.

Navin Patnaik should try to read this statement between the lines. Netizens have won; let it not be lost due to his negligence.

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown�s hint to Knighthood for Sachin Tendulkar got a ready test of Indian taste in a debate on CNN-IBN show: Face the Nation, where desirability of English language in India also influenced the discussion.

A panel comprising historian Ramachandra Guha, former BBC correspondent Sam Miller and senior journalist Swapan Dasgupta enriched the debate on whether or not the knighthood to Sachin could be interpreted in the light of imperial / colonial hangover.

But the debate eventually went beyond the knighthood issue and embarked upon English elitism.

The show promoter�s website, IBNLive.com, reported on Jan.22, 2008 that the question on importance of English language became so hot that Guha had to admit that elite Indian�s anglicized manners and overdependance on English as principal medium of expression rather expose its inferiority complex, though, he said, �we should recognize that no relationship between a former empire and a former colony has been as harmonious as ours with Britain�. Miller preferred to observe, “The issue probably is not about colonial hangover anymore, but it is much more about a wider Western hangover, if you want to call it that�, even as Dasgupta, concluding the discussion had to comment that the �importance of English may have begun something as colonial but today the language is linked to economic advancement and opportunity. And that is something, which is very practical�.

This prompts us to observe that the panel has totally failed to focus on the real importance of English in Indian life.

We, in The NEWS Syndicate, had cogitated deeply as to whether publication of orissamatters.com in English would not adversely affect our commitment to everything Oriya; and, deliberately had decided that Oriya nationalism would not be affected by expression in English as thereby we would be duly acknowledging the invaluable contribution of English language to our freedom from English yoke.

Expression in English is neither indicative of our colonial hangover nor inferiority complex. It refurbishes our recollection that we had used this language to convince the majority of English speaking people as on why the English must leave our land.

If the British crown had to quit India notwithstanding knowing that thereby the Sun of its Empire would set forever, it was because of three principal factors: (one) methods of non-cooperation and non-violence as used by Gandhiji as weapons of his movement for freedom, (two) more and more of Indian commons and intelligentsia accepting Marxism as their creed and rise of matching communist militancy addressed to supplement Gandhiji�s movement in progressive prospective and (three) use of English language against the English Empire.

But had we not used English language as our medium to make the commons and lords of the English land apprised of our determination for self-rule, despite the active role of the first two factors, British Parliament would not have decided to quit India so soon. Had that not happened, the freedom movement would have been further prolonged. We would not have unfurled our free Flag in 1947. And, what could have happened after Gandhiji, had the British not quit in 1947 cannot be said for certain at this point of time. So, to say the least we owe our freedom from the British yoke to a large extent to English language.

This is why I had decided to admit my son to an English medium School. This is why The NEWS Syndicate, in deciding to float Orissa�s first online portal, had decided to make English the medium of expression in orissamatters.com.

So, English to us is not a foreign language; but is a friend. The British PM�s offer of Knighthood to Tendulkar may be refused by him or rebuked by Indians in the light of perception over imperial / colonial hangover. But, role of English language in India�s life should be kept above all questions.

The Kandhamal District administration and literary organizations of the district collaborated in celebrating the golden jubilee of Orissa sahitya Akademi on 18 November 2007.

Inaugurated by the District Collector Bhabagrahi Mohapatra, the event commenced with a stress on recognition of Kui as a language in order to help the Kandh tribes entering into the mainstream of society. District Board Chairperson Smt. Kuntala Mallik was the Chief Guest.

Chairing the event, Akademi VP, H.R.Gandhi dwelt on how Oriya literature is dovetailed with folklores and folk stories prevalent in tribal belt of Orissa including Kandhamal.

Dr. Premananda Mohapatras keynote address projecting contemporary Oriya literature provided the base for Jubilee discussion wherein Dr. nalini Kumar Panigrahi and Adityeswar Mishra participated.

The Jubilee poet meet was presided over by Dr. Purna Chandra Mohanty, Principal of Phulbani Womens College. Smt. Pranati Tripathy and Sri Kishore Chandra Mishra were the coordinators.

The evening was dedicated to applied culture with active participation by the local Dance Academy, Nataraj Kala Mandir and Koel Kala Samsad. Project Director of Rural Development P.K.Rath joined as Chief guest. Sri Banamali Panigrahi and Dr. Madhusudan Mohapatra were the guests of honor.