Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, like his father Biju Patnaik, is entirely averse to Oriya Language.
Biju had pushed Orissa into predominance of English Language in 1963 by arbitrarily amending the Orissa Official Language Act, 1954 with blatant disrespect to Constitutional stipulations, while asserting that the English Language being the Language of the Master (Orissa Legislative Assembly Debates, 30.09.1963) is a must for administration, if Orissa is to progress. He even had shown the audacity to describe India as “not a Country all” (page 108, Assembly debate, 1985) because of the presence of languages like Oriya.
His son Naveen has used fraudulent means to push the Orissa Official Language Act into irrecoverable atrophy , even causing a Cabinet Scam – unprecedented in the annals of parliamentary democracy – because of his stronger aversion to Oriya Language.
With political education and class consciousness conspicuous by absence in the grassroots, there is no possibility of any alternative to emerge in Orissa. Political economy of avarice is so widespread that patriotic wisdom is hard to manifest in the ensuing election.
Under the circumstances, people of Orissa shall have to wake up to save their own language , stressed the founder of Bhasha Andolan, Orissa in a Facebook-live message on the occasion of Utkal Divas, the day of emergence of the splendid motherland of the Nation of the Oriyas 88 years ago. Below is the same brought to YouTube for the esteemed visitors to this site.