Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
This day the BlackFlag Campaign had commenced in 2016 in support of the draft legislation I had, as a member of the Ministerial Committee, given the Government for governance of Orissa in Oriya.
That, Oriya has become the language of google and our people’s beloved medium of expression in social media is the result of this campaign. That, the government has been forced to amend the Official language Act 3 times, is the result of this campaign. That, the government has created official Language Rules, is the result of this campaign. That, the government has gone so low as to purchase some of my close colleagues to derail this campaign, is the discernible impact of this campaign. That, the Oriya nation has build up its determination to win the war for the mother tongue, is the result of this campaign.
What is the strength of this campaign? It is the ego of Oriyaness (ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଅସ୍ମିତା), and nothing else. I call it Mana of our race, the Oriya race, the “fine race” as Gandhiji had described (Young India, 18th February, 1920).
My young colleague, a most humble personification of this Oriya ego, CA Ranjan Kumar Sahoo has collected and edited the pictures of a few of our predecessors, whose contributions to our motherland and mother tongue form the fountainhead of our strength that one sees in the campaign.
Glory to them on this day of commencement of our epoch making campaign.
