Orissa Matters

ORISSA GOVT. PLAYS ITS NASTIEST TRICK AGAINST THE ORIYAS

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Orissa State Government has played its nastiest trick against the people.

When classicality of the lovely and archaically rich Oriya language needs be recognized in the same yardstick as used for Tamil, the higher education department under a minister and a secretary belonging by birth to the Bengali speaking community known to history for their envy and conspiracy against the Oriya language, has initiated steps to disallow Oriya to be taught in as many as 14 Government Colleges and 125 aided Colleges at degree level, to begin with, when they resume after the ensuing summer vacation.

Major Colleges to be devoid of Oriya as a course of study include Ravenshaw College, Cuttack, Fakir Mohan College, Balasore, Bhadrak College, Bhadrak, MPC College, Baripada, Shailabala Women’s College, Cuttack, and the women’s colleges at Bhawanipatna, Dhenkanal, Balasore, Baripada and Keonjhar,Maharshi College of Natural Law and Kamala Nehru Women’s college, Bhubaneswar etc. The reason: lack of sufficient students!

We had broken this news editorially.

A section of the Print media has carried this information today.

This nasty offence against the people of Orissa is being carried out in the name of educational reform. Had anybody other than Naveen Patnaik been in power, nobody would ever have dared to think of this. But to the ill luck of Orissa, the reign of the State is in his hands.

Naveen Patnaik is a Chief Minister who hates the mother tongue of the people. Otherwise what is the reason of his reluctance to learn Oriya? Look at any IAS or IPS or IFS or any other officer of central civil service, who is not an Oriya, but is in the Orissa cadre. You can mark that he or she speaks in Oriya and has no difficulty in communication with the people. Oriya is so sweet and scientific that it could be learnt within a couple of months.

When during the British Raj, the southern part of Orissa was annexed to Madras Presidency, Mr. T.J. Mathey of Madras Civil Service had authored a ‘Handbook of Uriya or Odiya Language’ for use by the non-Oriya officers in the Oriya speaking track. Mathey was not an Oriya. He was charmed with the archaic beauty of Oriya language and as a language, it was so scientifically developed that he found no difficulty in mastering it. The State Government has published this book with the avowed aim that a functionary who does not know Oriya, but is engaged in Orissa administration, could easily learn Oriya with the aid of this book. Who debars Naveen Patnaik to take help of this book? Nobody. But Naveen shall not learn. Even Mathey’s book in his hand could not make him learn the language. He knows, as long as there are sycophants to support him, he shall manage. Who cares for the language?

Self-centered sycophants of Late Biju Patnaik, who knew that the people to lead the state could accept none of them, had picked him up. They had tried to see if a rubber-stamp chief minister could be created by use of the name of Biju Patnaik following his demise. The idea clicked and Naveen could win sympathy votes in the name of his father. For six years he is heading the government. He has been used by more crocked elements in his party in eliminating their rivals. He has not been able to know ABC of this foul game simply because he has no ability to know what really happens under his nose. This is because he has no knowledge in Oriya, the language, the rank and file of BJD speak. He has no interest in knowing this language.

Taking advantage of this, a Bangali by birth, Samir De, who holds the higher education portfolio under Naveen, has played the trick. We have editorially commented and we have no hesitation in saying that there are Bangalis who are traditional antagonists of Oriya language. Out of this antagonism, the new ploy against Oriya in the Colleges under control of Dey has been used.

As we have mentioned earlier, Oriya is a classical language with monumental archaic properties spanning sic passim its vast vocabulary, that offers immense scope for research in Indian philology. According to Sir George Abraham Grierson, the famous Irish Orientalist, “The Oriya language can boast of a rich vocabulary in which respect neither Bengali nor Hindi nor Telugu can vie with it”(Linguistic Survey of India, Vol.IV)

Even the famous Bengali scholar Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterjee admits that Oriya is unambiguously superior to Bengali. 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, 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.

The thinking minds must speak now.

MAHODADHI BEACH TO BE BEAUTIFIED

OM Bureau

Puri:

The Mahodadhi beach stretching over 3 kms. at Puri will soon be beautified under the Puri Beach Development Project. A comprehensive plan chalked out in this respect by the State Tourism development authorities is to use Rs.4.65 lakhs to illuminate the beach after freeing it from all encroachments and to build up four parking yards for tourists vehicles, out of a central government allocation of Rs.1.27 crore.

In a meeting held here to finalize the project, it was contemplated to develop a grassy park on the beach and to widen the marine drive road towards the sea. But, as it goes against the norms of coastal zone regulations, the state coastal Zone Management authority will be moved to clear it before its implementation.

It was decided to remove all the advertisement hoardings from and over the beach and to upgrade the Sulabh International toilets with better amenities for the tourists.

Pollution of the famous beach by hotels on the shore has attracted criticism unabated. Even the House Committees of Orissa Legislative Assembly have unreservedly expressed their anguish over administrative apathy to this outstanding problem. But the meeting that adopted the project, could not pay any attention to this, though it was participated by the local MLA (who also is the Speaker of the Assembly), Mr. Maheswar Mohanty.

A RENEWED BANGALI CONSPIRACY: THWART IT. THWART IT. THWART IT.

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Bangalis had conspired against the Oriya language during the British Raj taking advantage of the disadvantage the Oriya nation had been subjected to, consequent upon defeat of the first revolt it had raised, in whole of India, against the foreign invaders. British was eager to keep the Oriyas suppressed. On the other hand, Oriyas were determined not to seek any employment under the British. At this juncture, Bangalis, taken as “native” servants by the British, had started trumpeting that, Oriya, as a language, had no distinct identity of its own and hence its use in schools and offices must stop. This evil design was thwarted by the Oriya nation under leadership of Mr. Madhusudan Das. Philologically it was proved and practically it was seen that Oriya, as a language, was much more senior and superior to Bengali.

This is proved when the philologist in Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterjee said that, “of the three speeches-Oriya, Bengali and Assamees- Oriya has preserved a great many archaic features in both grammar and pronounciation; 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)

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

But the Bangali’s ill motive against the Oriyas has not completely relented. Their contrived claim over Sri Jaya Dev is an instant to be cited.

The latest phase of Bangali conspiracy against the Oriya Nation is cooked up in the Higher Education department of Government of Orissa where a local Bangali , Samir De, has been presiding as the minister. An official instruction has been issued to all the Government and aided Colleges to stop admitting students into the Oriya stream as and when demand on this stream seems dwindled.

The Oriya Nation must rise now to thwart this evil design again. The Government of Orissa cannot be allowed to cause any decline in study of Oriya. If demand on this stream has declined in Colleges, the government must be held responsible for that. It must introspect and ensure that employment avenues encourage Oriya language so much so that our students address themselves to their mother-tongue with due dedication.

To retain a Bangali as a minister or to keep a Chief Minister in Orissa who has no intelligence, ability and aptitude to learn Oriya, to understand Oriya, to speak and write in Oriya, is not more important than preservation and prosperity of the mother tongue of the Oriya nation.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik may take note of it.

And for the Oriyas, it is time to rise against the Bangali conspiracy and to thwart it with the contempt it deserves.

LAW MAKER WHO VIOLATES LAW IS EITHER IN BJD OR IN BJP

OM Bureau

Bhubaneswar:

Look at any member of Orissa Legislative Assembly who violates Law, you may easily find him in either of the two Parties in power, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Police has formed four squads to nab the absconding MLA of Kamakshyanagar, Prafulla Mallick, who belong to BJD. He had severely beaten up the Inspecter-in-Charge of Police, last week, in the police station itself, after storming into it with about 50 fellow goons.

On May 18, only four days after the Kamakshyanagar incident, MLA of Binika, Niranjan Pujari, who belong also to BJD, has attacked and injured an old couple, Sundar Pujari (80) and his wife Mrs. Satyabhama Pujari (70) and also their grand son Kalinga Pujari (21) after trespassing into their residential house with a pack of rowdy followers. The cause of provocation was Kalingas failure in paying proper respect to the MLAs pet person Ananta Narayan Pujari.

MLA of Junagarh, Himansu Meher, who belonged to BJP, staged an acrimonious demonstration last week before Junagarh Police Station in protest against arrest of two of his supporters namely Pramod Nimulia and Bijay Panda from his residence at Bhubaneswar, where they were hiding to escape police action. They, along with another absconder Rabindra Nayak, had dragged down the B. D. O. of Kalampur, Rudraprasanna Sahu, to the BJP Office at Junagarh, and thrashed him there mercilessly in presence of Mr. Meher on April 28. The BDO having filed F.I.R. seeking police action, they had escaped to Bhubaneswar where, while enjoying hospitality of Meher, they were trying to obtain anticipatory bell from the High Court.

Finance Minister Prafulla Ghadei, who belongs to BJD, admits that he is in a quagmire. An under-age tribal boy who was working as a pageboy in Ghadeis Bhubaneswar residence, is not traceable for several months. His father is apprehensive when many others suspect that the poor child has been sacrificed in tantric rites performed by Ghadei, whom people of the locality look askance, linking him to the ill famed shenanigans in the temple of Goddess Viraja. Police, however, is in search of the boy. If it fails to locate him, no one can say, how Ghadei would escape the blame.
What next!

NO DEATH SENTENCE ON SPECULATIVE EVIDENCE: ORISSA HIGH COURT

OM Bureau

Cuttack:

There is absolutely no evidence on record that due to individual act of Dara alone, the three deceased persons or any of them died. Thus saying, the Orissa High Court set aside on May 19 the death sentence awarded to Rabindra Kumar Pal alias Dara Singh by the trial court and commuted it to life imprisonment in the triple murder case instituted on alleged murder of Christian missionary from Australia Graham Stuart Staines and his two sons Philip and Timothy in the night of January 22, 1999 at Manoharpur of Keonjhar, Orissa.

Holding that Dara Singh as the ambassador of death deserves death, the Trial Court had sentenced him to death u/s.302 I.P.C, for which he was separately charged and directed that he be hanged by the neck till he is dead.

Besides Dara Singh, there were 12 other convicts facing prosecution over the triple murder. But, they being gullible Adivasis, the Judge had declared that they deserve justice tempered with mercy and therefore had awarded them with punishment of imprisonment only.

In total disapproval of this award, the High Court observed that, Evidence against the accused including Dara being of identical nature, they are all equally responsible for the triple murder. No justification is available from the evidence on record to single out Dara Singh for convicting him under section 302 of IPC

Considering the various rulings of the Supreme Court and the facts and circumstances of the case in which the crime was committed and part played by the convicts, the Trial judge had said, I sentence each of the convict to imprisonment for life under Section 120(B), I.P.C. Setting aside this sentence, the High Court Bench comprising Chief Justice Sujit Barman Roy and Justice Laxmikanta Mohapatra pronounced, We are sorry to say that the nature of evidence is absolutely weak and on the basis of such speculative evidence, it is not possible to hold any of the accused guilty for criminal conspiracy under section 120(B) of Indian Penal Code. Therefore, the conviction and sentences of the appellants under section 120(B) IPC cannot be sustained and must be quashed.

Delivering the 110 page judgment in a packed courtroom, the bench acquitted Dayanidhi Patra, Umakanta Bhoi, Kartik Lohar, Rabi Soren, Mahadev Mahanta, Thuram Ho, Renta hembram, Suresh hansda, Surath Nayak, Harischandra Mahanta and Rajat Kumar Das. However, life imprisonment sentenced to Mahendra hembram was upheld on basis of his confession. Dara Singh, in whose respect the Court observed that he cannot be held individually liable for the triple murder, was adjudged liable vicariously along with others by invoking section 149 of IPC. But, the Court announced, We cannot accept the investigation to be an impartial one. Justifying this observation, the Court specifically referred to confessional statement of one Umakanta Bhoi, convicted by the Trial Court. There are circumstances, the Court pointed out, to show that confessional statements of Umakanta Bhoi must have been secured by coercion, duress and threat.

Death sentence, though, thus commuted to life imprisonment, Dara Singh has told the media that he shall prefer an appeal in the Supreme Court seeking acquittal as well as a judicial determination that he had not committed the crime.

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 →