Give up Hypocrisy With Respect To Surendra Sai, Give Sambalpur Its Due Importance

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Orissa Government behaves hypocritically in many respects. But it should give up hypocrisy with respect to Veer Surendra Sai.

Our discussion on Surendra Sai being well read in these pages, we do not now prefer a new discussion on his life and sacrifice. But, we can certainly say that he had made the greatest and the most inspiring sacrifice for restoration of the distinct dignity of Sambalpur, the place that has the most monumental contribution to culture of Orissa.

Orissa owes its name to Uddiyan Tantra founded by the founder of Vajrayana of Buddhism, Indrabhuti, the light of Udradesh, Sambalpur.

Indrabhuti was the man who coined the name Jagannatha for Gurudev Buddha and established him as such amalgamating the tribal matriarchy with Buddhist tenets that are yet in vogue in the Jagannatha temple system.

So, it is Indrabhuti of Uddiyan Sambalpur who gave birth to Jagannath culture on which Orissa’s unique world outlook is based.

When this Jagannatha has been converted from Buddha to Vishnu and thereby into a deity controlled by the caste supremacists, it may depend on argument and counter argument to arrive at this truth that Jagannath of Puri owes his origin to Indrabhuti of present day Sambalpur. But, no argument is needed to show that Surendra Sai had made supreme sacrifice for restoration of the distinct position of Sambalpur.

I have in these pages as well as in my columns in Oriya language harped several times on transfer of a portion of the State Secretariat comprising departments having more relevance to western Orissa and high lands to Sambalpur as well as for establishment of a bench of the Orissa High Court in this place without wastage of time. The people of the western region are also agitating for availability of executive and judicial government at their door step.

These essential facilities are not being available to people of Western Orissa simply because the State Government is not rising above timidness and hypocrisy.

If Surendra Sai is really to be honored, the unique contribution of Sambalpur region to Orissa should be unreservedly recognized and the offices of executive and judicial government must be established in Sambalpur.

So, politico-administrative hypocrisy should be given up with respect to Surendra Sai and he should be given due respect by establishment of a bench of the Orissa High Court at and by transfer of a part of the State Secretariat comprising departments more relevant to Western Orissa to Sambalpur without wastage of time.