Orissa Matters

NOT ENOUGH, NATIONAL HUMILIATION MUST BE AVENGED

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

We repeat, the evil design formulated against Oriya language and promulgated by the minister of higher education Samir Dey, whose mother tongue is Bengali, has been defeated and the people of Orissa have saved their mother tongue again from Bengali conspiracy.

A couple of hours after Samir Dey told the Press that the decision to do away with Oriya as a subject in degree curriculum was just and proper, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik took a meeting with top bureaucrats and used his prerogative to nullify his minister’s orders. He, of course, had to take this step, after we exposed the design thread bare immediately after Samir’s boastings and the people of Orissa as a whole rose in revolt against the mischief.

It is clearly a people’s victory. But this is not enough. Samir must be sacked. He has humiliated the people of Orissa by subjecting their mother tongue to negative publicity. This humiliation must be avenged.

We repeat, no Oriya can ever forget the mischievous conspiracy a small section of Bangalis had cooked up against their language using the advantage of their being in the close circle of the British bosses as their “native servants”. Is Samir’s action a new version of that conspiracy? The answer cannot be a ‘no’ unless otherwise established by an open investigation. To facilitate this, the Lingua-Benga Minister needs to be sacked summarily.

So also, S.Sanyal, the Secretary of Higher education department, another specimen of Bengali-tongue bureaucrats, who, as apprehended by Law Minister Biswabhusan Harichandan, might have initiated this nasty proposal, deserves exemplary punishment for having humiliated the Nation of the Oriyas. Continuing Sanyal in the department of Higher education, if he had initiated the proposal to scrap Oriya from eminent Oriya Colleges, would be a danger of higher potency to Orissa.

The role of these two Lingua-Benga functionaries in management of the Higher Education department also needs review. They say that a Committee headed by the Director, H.E. had recommended for scrapping of Oriya from degree curriculum. Under such circumstances, one is to look at this Director. He is a four in one Director. Besides being the Director of Higher education, he is Regional Director of Education, Director of Vocational Education and Director of the Text Book Press. He is not legally fit to hold these offices. But he holds, because the Dey-Sanyal duo has wanted him to hold these posts. There is, therefore, every possibility that such a favored man can cultivate or arrange a justification for scrapping of Oriya from the curriculum if that idea emanates from the top.

The top, of course, is taking shelter under wordy acrobatics likes rationalization. The colleges are guided and controlled under the UGC guidelines in respect of faculty and didactics. Rationalization as the government wants us to believe is not within this framework. So, why the idea developed and where it germinated? The people of this State have a right to know details of it.

They say, students are not coming forward in heavy numbers to study Psychology, Home Science, Mathematics, Sanskrit and Oriya. Therefore these subjects should be scrapped. How can they say that many shall not seek for this year or in future admission to these courses? Does any pro-people government behave like this?

The government is claiming credit for having formulated a mission called ’employment mission’. For success of such a mission, psychological counseling is a very urgent ingredient. The government should encourage as many students as possible to take up this branch of knowledge in right earnest. There is ample opportunity for self-employment of students of psychology if the government formulates the course properly. Beginning from classroom discipline to conjugal compatibility to industrial unrest to socio-economic management to tackling of politico-religious menace, psychology has a major role to play. Similarly, mathematics is a must for self-help culture that the government is trumpeting. Not only for the women folk but also for any body interested in profitable management of domestic affairs and in employment in tourists friendly professions domestic science possess the potential to play the part of mainstay. Sanskrit is the synthetic language of India. As regards Oriya, besides being the mother tongue of the people of Orissa, it is such a language on study of which depends the study of Indian civilization. It offers immense scope for research in Indian philology.

When the non-Oriya neighbors- Bengali, Telugu and Madhypradeshis- were trying to thwart the Oriya movement for formation of Orissa as a province on linguistic basis in the British Raj, a question of identification of Oriya as a separate language was raised by those mean minded neighbors. This question was amply answered by Oriya scholars of the day. Non-Oriya scholars of international repute were interested in knowing the truth. From their research, came the recognition of the superbly superior status of the language of the Oriyas.

Sir George Abraham Grierson, the famous Irish Orientalist, said in Linguistic Survey of India, Vol. IV, “The Oriya language can boast of a rich vocabulary in which respect neither Bengali nor Hindi nor Telugu can vie with it”.

Even the famous Bengali scholar Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterjee admitted that Oriya is unambiguously superior to his own mother tongue. To quote him, “of the three speeches-Oriya, Bengali and Assamees- Oriya has preserved a great many archaic features in both grammar and pronunciation; and it may be said without travesty of linguistic truth that Oriya is the eldest of the three sisters, when we consider the archaic character of the language”. (I.H.Q. Vol.XXIII, 1947, p.337)

So any scholar, we repeat, who wants to study Indian linguistics, shall have to study the archaically richest language ‘Oriya’. In the world arena, linguistics attracts best of minds in study of human civilization. Stoppage of study in this beautiful and historically important language in the higher education institutions of its own soil is nothing but a blatant crime against the people of Orissa as well as the history of human civilization.

Hence the men who conspired to commit this crime against our people must not be allowed to go unpunished.

If Naveen hesitates to sack Samir Dey, there shall be no doubt in the latter’s version, that the CM had a hand in this too. And, the people shall be doing the best in taking up this matter into consideration when called upon to pronounce their verdict ultimately.

Intellectual Property Rights of a Scientist of Orissa under Threat of Misappropriation

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Clearly two decades ago, a brilliant son of the soil of Orissa, Dr. Asoka K. Misra, invented a technique by which character of a matter takes a new form under controlled application of power, for a new form of use.

This technique, captioned as ‘Misra Technique’ in the high caliber referral journal of United States of America: Metallurgical Transactions A; Vol. 17A, February 1986, was patented in USA as a “method for controlling solidification of metals and other materials” in 1993.

Now this technique, Misra alleges, is being misappropriated by the international giant Philips for use in its project ‘fluidfocus lenses’. On the other hand, the Philips’ claim is being contested by a France startup ‘Varioptic’. “From what we’ve seen of Philips’ fluid lens demonstration, its our technology”, asserts the company spokeswoman Etienne Paillard.

But as both of them claim, they had begun working in the matter after 1993, i.e. after Misra Technique, reported nine years ago in MTA, was patented. Hence Misra seems to be right in alleging that his invention is being misappropriated.

In our earlier report dt.24 Sept.2004, captioned “Misra Technique vrs. Philips”, we had dealt with this dispute. A communication from Philips’ research scientist Dr.Ir.S.Kuiper dt.17 Oct.2004, available to us, he has said, “I looked at http://www.orissamatters.com/file-assets/misra.htm and saw indeed that Mr. Misra thinks Philips jeopardizes his rights”.

However, he says, “from the drawing at this web site, I see no analogies with Philips lens”.

We had attracted attention of Dr. Misra to this. He says, “the material used by Philips or Varioptic and the end product they propose is not material. The crux of the issue is the method they use. That method is my method”, he says.

The Misra method, reflected in the abstract of his patent document, is, (a) placing of a molten material in contact with a first electrode formed from a conductive material and a second electrode formed from a semi conductive metal oxide and (b) passing an electric current between the first second electrodes while the molten material is cooling at a current density of 10 to 500 mA/cm.sup.2. This method was invented by Dr. Misra to eliminate the causes of failure as experienced in all earlier experiments suffering set back due to short circuit for use of higher voltage of electricity. The experiment he conducted was on low-melting monotype metal alloy placed in glass tubes with electrodes on both ends of the tube in direct contact with the melt. And the result was the desired modification of structure of the material.

In reporting Philips’ claim, Ian Austen (NYTNS) had carried Kuiper’s version that described how the inside surfaces of the tube containing the lens were covered with water repelling chemicals. The tube is filled with two liquids: one that conducts electricity readily, for example water, and another that does not, such as oil. “When a charge is applied through the electrodes, the surface tension of the liquid changes”.The Varioptic version is of no difference. “A water drop is deposited on a substrate made of metal covered by a thin insulating layer. The voltage applied to the substrate modifies the contact angle of the liquid drop. The liquid lens uses two isodensity liquids, one is an insulator while the other is a conductor. The variation of voltage leads to a change of curvature of the liquid-liquid interface, which in turn leads to change of the focal length of the lens”.

A cursory analysis of all these versions leads one to believe that Misra Technique having heavily preceded the other two, apprehension of the inventor of the first one that his technique is being misappropriated by Philips and Varioptic cannot be held as forceless.

The reaction of both Philips and Varioptic to Misra’s allegation revolves round the fact that they are using liquid material where as Misra experimented on metal and alloys. This argument has no strength. Because, the crux of the issue is not the matter, but the method.

It is definite that Misra Technique is well grasped. It is not bad. In fact, every scientific invention is meant for the world to grasp. But it is bad when a business house grabs it for pocketing profit out of its use by keeping the inventor eclipsed under its avarice.

Hence, we can say, grasp Misra Technique, but don’t grab it

DISPLACED IN UTTER DESPAIR: GOVT. SHOULD SEEK SCIENTIFIC REMEDY

OM Bureau

Bhubaneswar:

Have at least a socio-economic survey on the impact of industrialization so that the problems of the displaced could be scientifically addressed to, advised a subject-matter specialist, here at a state-level consultation workshop on Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R). He is Mr.S.M.Jamdar, Revenue secretary to the State Government of Karnatak.

In its over-enthusiasm to help private capital, the Naveen Patnaik government in Orissa has caused catastrophic damage to the fundamental rights of the poor public who are being rendered homeless, batch after batch, when the records of right over their land are being changed under the Land Acquisition Act, in favour of the industrialists.

The latest instance of State patronage to private industry at the cost of the poor sons of the soil has been laid bare at Kalinga Nagar Industrial Complex, where administrative action was so brutal that people, who were demanding appropriate compensation against their land before an industry starts, fled away into the deep forests in fear of further police atrocity, leaving behind the kids and elders who could not run. This resulted in starvation death of two baby children and an old abandoned man. Suppressed agony of the people all over the state following this particular instance has generated waves of qualms in the corridor of power that made it have the aforesaid workshop. Be it an eyewash or not, a R&R policy was placed to be projected as the state Governments proof of its humanitarian approach to the problems of the displaced. The workshop was to work on this framework.

Pointing out that absence of socio-economic survey of the villages acquired for use by industry in the sate leads nowhere in rehabilitation, Jamdar underlined that only such a survey may make the government aware of the infrastructure that was traditionally available to the displaced persons cementing their adherence to their villages and show the way as to how the same could be re-created in the new habitations so that the displaced people would not feel that they are thrown away from their living environment.

Revenue secretary T.K.Mishra, maintaining that the existing R&R policy is quite satisfactory, wanted the workshop to suggest if any improvement could be bought about so that the mass unrest being witnessed over the rehabilitation issues are adequately tackled. Development Commissioner Ajit kumar Tripathy suggested that the policy should be such that the rehabilitation sites should ensure amenities more than what was available to the displaced persons in their earlier habitations in order to attract them to the change in their environment.

UNDP had prevailed upon the state government to organize this workshop.

LINGUA-BENGA DESIGN DEFEATED: ORIYA NATION WINS

OM Bureau

Bhubaneswar:

The evil design formulated against Oriya language and promulgated by the minister of higher education Samir De, whose mother tongue is Bengali, after exposed threadbare in ORISSA MATTERS, has been defeated and the people of Orissa have saved their mother tongue again from Bengali conspiracy.

A couple of hours after Samir Dey told the Press today that the decision to do away with Oriya as a subject in degree curriculum was based on marked absence of interest in Oriya amongst the students, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik took a meeting with top bureaucrats and sensing the sharp reaction against the minister’s decision, used his prerogative to nullify the irritating orders. The CM’s decision was communicated to the media.

S. Sanyal, a Bengali by birth, is the Secretary of higher education when Dey holds the portfolio. It is yet to be known as to who of these two cooked up the idea to scrap Oriya from the degree Colleges of Orissa. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s marked distance from the mother tongue of the state must have given them a congenial climate to contemplate this design. But the people of the State including the sycophants of Naveen rose in revolt against this offense immediately after the design was discovered. Naveen experienced for the first time in his life the wrath of the total citizenry of the state over this issue and that made him amend his government’s ways.

It is clearly a people’s victory. But the people have a right to know as to who first cooked up this conspiracy against their mother tongue.

THE LINGUA-BENGA MINISTER BE SACKED

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

His party senior Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, who, from the BJP segment of the ruling coalition in Orissa, holds the portfolio of Law and heads the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Higher Education, has come out with a clarification that Minister Samir Dey might have been misled by the bureaucracy to approve scrapping of Oriya language from degree curriculum in government and non-government Colleges in the State.

The whole State of Orissa is in bitter agony over the government decision to do away with Oriya study in centers of excellence in higher education like the Ravenshaw College and other 14 government and 125 non-government Colleges. It is an inexcusable insult to the national pride of the Oriyas. Politicians, irrespective of party affiliations, have expressed shock to know of this mischief. Law Minister Bishwabhusan Harichandan of BJP has said, “The Higher education department cannot scrap Oriya from the curriculum without express approval of the State Cabinet”. Many a ministers of the state have decried this decision. BJD heavyweight Sangram Keshari Berma, who heads a high-membership association of teachers, has threatened to resort to a state-wide strike against the foul play, if the minister does not withdraw the nasty order. Orissa Gana Parisad and the left parties have come down heavily on the government alleging that the Chief Minister, who does not know Oriya, has provided an anti-Oriyas with the opportunity to play havoc with the people’s mother-tongue.

Had there been anybody other than a mindless man like Naveen Patnaik in power, a Bangali by birth like Samir Dey could never have dared to pass orders to do away with Oriya in Orissa’s higher education institutions. As admitted by the Law Minister, this decision has been taken behind back of the State cabinet.

The entire Opposition, openly and senior leaders of the ruling coalition, off the record, are pointing out their fingers at the Chief Minister, who does not know the mother tongue of Orissa, for this uncalled for assault on the national identity of the Oriyas. His aversion to Oriya language proved by his conspicuous negligence to the Official Language Act of Orissa, has encouraged Samir Dey to play his foul trick against the Oriyas. If he wants to escape responsibility, he must sack Samir Dey for having caused so much damage to the Oriya pride.

No Oriya can ever forget the mischievous conspiracy Bangalis had cooked up against Orissa using the advantage of their being in the close circle of the British bosses as their “native servants”. Is Samir’s action a new version of that conspiracy? The answer cannot be a “no” unless otherwise established by an open investigation. To facilitate this, the Lingua-Benga Minister needs to be sacked summarily. So also, S.Sanyal, the Secretary of Higher education department, another specimen of Bengali-tongue bureaucrat, who, as apprehended by Harichandan, might have initiated this nasty proposal, deserves oustal from his post. Continuing Sanyal in the department of Higher education, if he has initiated the proposal to scrap Oriya from eminent Oriya Colleges, would be a danger of higher potency to Orissa.

If Naveen fails to rise to the occasion, end of his government under people’s wrath would be most welcome.