Attempt to Distort the History of Khandua is an Offense against Cultural Heritage, said Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Any attempt to distort history of Khandua must be condemned as an offense against cultural heritage, said eminent journalist and culture scholar Subhas Chandra Pattanayak in a mass meeting in Tigiria’s Nuapatana on September 22. Tigiria is Sri Pattanayak’s native place.

The meeting was held in evening to protest against recent attempts by a vested interest section of weavers of Maniabandh village belonging to the neighboring Tahsil of Baramba in the district of Cuttack to mislead the state about Khandua heritage.

Bhagirathi Nanda, President, Orissa Cooperative Tasar and Silk Federation Ltd (SERIFED) who on 7 July 2009 had apprised the Controller of Geographical Indication Registry of origin and development of Khandua in Nuapatana, conducted the meeting.

Sri Pattanayak quoted and analyzed various sources in which Nuapatana of Tigiria is recognized as the place of origin of Khandua. Recalling his childhood days he said, Maniabandh was known for manufacture of a peculiar pattern of Dhoti and Chadar Called Maniabandhi Joda. The only Sharee Maniabandh was producing was known in the locality as Chagla Sharee. Khandua was Nuapatana’s exclusive product.

Linking the history of Khandua to history of Sri Jagannatha, Sri Pattanayak recalled how Ramachandra Dev –ii, the Gajapati emperor of Orissa, in a court-order in 1641 Saka, had asked the King of Tigiria to prevail upon eight weaver-brothers of Tigiria (Nuapatana) to supply Khandua to Srimandira for use by Sri Jagannatha in lieu of which he had offered to appoint them as Patra Sevakas of the Lord. This being recorded by the Madala Panji is a conclusive proof of Khandua being manufactured only in Nuapatana in Orissa. As far back as on 18th September 1813, a list of cloths kept for use by Sri Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Subhdra was prepared by the British, Khandua mentioned in this list is noted as (Nua) Putnee Khandooa, There is no mention of Maniabandh in respect of Khandua in this list, said Sri Pattanayak.

Recalling his childhood memories, Sri Pattanayak disclosed how legendary artist Bibhuti Kanungo had stayed in Nuapatana in the house of Arjuna Subudhi for months together to learn the technique of Khandua weaving. Later as he transmitted that technique to Sambalpuri weavers, he was issued with a communication of appreciation by the central government.

Quoting sources he said, Khandua and Bandha Padavali textiles found in public museums in India and abroad so far are from Tigiria (Nuapatana) only; not from Maniabandh.

So, evidently, Nuapatana of Tigiria is the habitat of the creators of Khandua. It is an offense against history to claim originality in manufacturing of Khandua by weavers of any other locality, said Sri Pattanayak.

High Court Judges should be posted outside Their Home States

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Lawyers in Orissa are divided on the issue of High Court Judges staying in their home States.

In expressing resentment over contemplated transfer of a Judge, the Orissa High Court Bar had recently stopped work for a remarkable period.

Members of the Bhubaneswar Bar refused to support their Cuttack friends on this issue. On the other hand, Western Orissa Lawyers, specifically of the Sambalpur Bar have raised the specific demands that lawyers elevated from Bar to Bench should not be posted in the same High Court.

The demand of the Sambalpur Bar is quite pertinent. This demand does not connote to any doubt on honesty of any particular Judge. But friendship, relationship, love, affection and all such factors of personal attachment are viruses that are seldom extinguishable.

A perception is getting stronger everyday that judiciary is down in corruption. Therefore demands are getting stronger that the Judges should disclose their properties. It is difficult to believe that every Judge enhances his/her property behind every judgment delivered in supersedence of public expectations. But it is not impossible to apprehend that personal attachment to a previous intimate friend in the Bar or to the litigant concerned, might be affecting a judgment, judges being human beings.

The mischief of personal relationship, bound to stay undiminished in the environment of home state, cannot be eliminated by any law. Hence, in interest of justice, there should be framed a Law with the stipulation that High Court Judges must not be posted in their home States.

And, the sooner it is done, the better.

PLEASE STAND WITH ANNADA KUMAR RAY

Dear Friends,

Veteran journalist Mr. Annada Kumar Ray,67, who is well known for his honesty ,integrity and professional efficiency is suffering from Colon Cancer and presently under treatment at Sanjivani Nursing Home, Bhubaneswar.

All the resources available with his family has been exhausted for his treatment at different hospitals. His family members are left with no resources to mobilize further finance.

As you know, huge funds are required for treatment of such a disease. His family members are virtually in distress.

Under such circumstances, we sincerely feel that the media fraternity should express solidarity with him and his family by extending financial help to the best of their ability for his treatment.

Those who want to contribute may kindly remit in the following Savings Bank Account of his wife:

Smt. Kanak Manjari Das,
State Bank of India, S.B. Account No. 103781823-2,
SBI, Sriram Nagar, Old Town, Bhubaneswar.

Or may please remit by Money Order in favor of:

Smt. Kanak Manjari Das,
Wife of Sri Annada Kumar Ray,
Gouripalli,
P.O.KEDAR GOURI ROAD,
BHUBANESWAR-751002.

The Media Unity for Freedom of Press may kindly be informed about details of the donation through prafulladas@gmail.com.

With warm regards,

Sincerely,
for MEDIA UNITY FOR FREEDOM OF PRESS,
Subhas Chandra Pattanayak,
Prasanta Patnaik,
Sampad Mohapatra,
Rabi Das,
Prafulla Das,
Gopal Mohapatra,
Sudhir Patnaik,
Dwijen Padhi.

PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS APPEAL AMONG YOUR FRIENDS.

MUFP PROTEST IS SILENT BUT STRONG AGAINST TORTURE OF MEDIA PERSONS BY THE POLICE

Sept. 22, 2010: The Police did not allow the Media Unity for Freedom of Press (MUFP) to hold its silent demonstration in protest against atrocities perpetrated on media persons in Orissa , as declared earlier, in front of the Governor’s House (Raj Bhawan) on September 22. Equipped with misuseable powers, it rather forced MUFP to offer its demonstration in a quite disadvantageous roadside near the Circuit House, in the Raj Bhawan locality. Yet, hundreds of media persons belonging to print, electronic and web media joined the silent demonstration of protest to condemn the silence of the State Government over repeated attacks on the media in the State.

A large number of intellectuals, educationists, advocates, social and political activists expressed their solidarity with media by joined the protest.

Talking to the newsmen, Prasanta Patnaik, member of the Presidium of MUFP said that since repeated appeals to the Chief Minister to stop Police from implicating media persons in false cases and to stop State sponsored / mafia attacks on media persons yielded no result, it has been decided to urge upon the Governor to intervene.

Condemning the manner in which Bikas Swain, the printer, publisher and promoter of Oriya daily Suryaprava was arrested, Patnaik said that Swain was not a terrorist or a dreaded criminal with records of escaping the law. Yet the plain clothed police intercepted his vehicle, when he was on way to a hospital carrying food and medicine for his father who is struggling with cancer. According to reports, the policemen snatched away the food and medicines and threw it on the road. On the basis of a F.I.R. vitiated with fluctuating statements by the complainant, the police have slapped harsher criminal charges against him, that shows how much the police is motivated against him, he said.

He further said that the police have blatantly violated the procedures prescribed by the Supreme Court of India, National Police Commission and Article 21 of the Constitution of India in connection with arrest of any individual.

Suryaprava managing editor, Naveen Das informed about the motivated design of the police against the paper for exposing wrong doings of the Government. He disclosed that about a fortnight ago a senior police officer had indicated to the Editor of Suryaprava that it may face consequences for writing against the police and the Government.

Since the Governor was on tour to Bangalore, it was decided to handover the memorandum to him on his return.

(The pictures used in this posting are contributed by Katherine Martineau, Ph.D.candidate in Socio-Cultural Anthropology at the University of Michigan and Odissi scholar on visit to Bhubaneswar)

Editor's Picks

Oriya Language created Orissa and therefore Orissa must be ruled by Oriya Language

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik seems to have developed a wrong notion that governance of Orissa in Oriya depends upon his mercy. His press-note of December 17 and full page display advertisement in major broadsheets of today force us to arrive at this apprehension.

In his December 17 press note it was declared that he had held a meeting with the five members of the ministerial committee on that day for the purpose of “strictly implementing the Orissa Official Language Act, 1954 in official and non-official level” to facilitate which a website has been floated by the government. In the full page multi-color advertisement in broadsheet dailies today, this is intriguingly missing.

The advertisement is designed to tell the people that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has taken historical steps to save and develop Oriya language, and has enumerated the steps he has taken. This is blatant lie. Neither he nor his government has executed any single item claimed to be “historical” in the official advertisement. The entire advertisement is nothing but false propaganda. What a shame it is, that, the people of Orissa are taken for granted by their Chief Minister! Read more →

Navakalevara: Legends and reality

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Legends are the most misguiding mischief aimed at superimposing lies on reality so that indigenous people of an occupied land are kept too dazzled to see the dark face of the rulers and the class of exploiters can keep its victims subjugated to its authority, while forcing them to forget the heroic history of evolution of their own philosophy of life, their own splendid spiritual realizations, their own socio-economic uniqueness, their own ancient culture, their own valorous past, their own way of social integration and their own civilization.

We see this mischief galore in the context of Navakalevara of SriJagannatha.

So, here, we are to rip apart the legends and bring the reality of the Navakalevara to light, as thereby alone we can reach the lost uniqueness of the people of Orissa.

We will use Puri Sankaracharya’s self-proclaimed authority over Navakalevara to proceed with our purpose.

  Read more →

Samaja in Maze of Forgery: Two former Ministers of Orissa – Lingaraj Mishra & Radhanath Rath forged the WILL of Gopabandhu; Both benefitted till their death; SoPS continues to Loot

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

The Oriya daily SAMAJA founded by late Utkalmani Pandit Gopabandhu Das, to which, out of their love and reverence for the great humanitarian leader, the people of Orissa had and have been giving their financial and moral support, is in a menacing maze of forgery and loot.

Sadly, two of Gopabandhu’s trusted men – Lingaraj Mishra and Radhanath Rath – who, because of being known so, had the opportunity of becoming cabinet ministers in Orissa, were the masterminds and/or makers of the forgery from which the paper is yet to be salvaged.

Both of them – Lingaraj and Radhanath – had partnered with each other in forging the last WILL of Gopabandhu to grab the Samaja, which being Gopabandhu’s paper was of superb credibility and the greatest political instrument of the day. They had performed this crime behind the screen of and in nexus with Servants of the People Society (SoPS), of which, while breathing his last, Gopabandhu was the Vice-President. Read more →