Roving Reporter
The people of Nilgiri have celebrated on Wednesday the 72nd year of merger of their State with Orissa, which paved the way for India to absorb all the Princely States and get the geographic shape in which we find her today.
Comrade Janardan Pati senior CPIM leader, as the chief speaker on the occasion, correctly recalled the contributions of Veer Baishnav Charan Pattanayak of Dhenkanal whose militant aggression, over and above the heroic fight of Banamali Das, Kailash Mohanty and many other leaders of the Prajamandal, had forced the King to abdicate his Throne. The Nilgiri MLA Sri Sukanta Nayak was the chief guest.
Nilgiri was the first State in Orissa to merge with India. The communists were in the forefront of this struggle.
But democracy having given way to plutocracy, the situation has gone so sore that, the people’s sufferings are not over despite elapse of 72 years of merger, excepting some of the former kings and their heirs becoming ministers and ministers dazzling like the former kings. The Prajas are mere poor citizens without decent life and living. The communists are fighting to eradicate social and economic disparities. This will be a prolong battle to liberate people from economic exploitation and from communal fascism, said Sri Pati.