Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

The evening of August 15 shall remain memorable for the members of Oriya Bhasa Sangram Samiti (OBSS). Its campaign for implementation of Orissa Official Language Act, 1954 (hereinafter called the Act) took a positive leap, generating a sure hope for governance of Orissa in Oriya.

Chairman of the Joint Action Committee comprising the specially constituted Group of Ministers (GoM) and the representatives of OBSS, Hon’ble Debi Prasad Mishra, in an informal meet of the JAC, last evening agreed to recommend the Samiti’s proposal for creation of necessary Rules to administer the Act.

Representatives of OBSS comprising convener Sri Sankar Parida, Joint Convener Dr. Subrat Prusti, Eminent Linguist and former Director of Central Institute of Indian Languages Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak, Prof. Natabar Satpathy, and this Reporter apprised the GoM Chairman the details of the necessity of forming the Rules for administration of the Act. He appreciated the idea and suggested that it should be incorporated in the Policy Paper Dr. Pattanayak has been authorized in the last JAC to prepare, so that after the next formal meeting of the JAC, he would place the proposal before the Hon’ble Chief Minister with positive recommendation. Dr. Subrat Prusti, Prof.Natabar Satpathy and this Reporter are to help Dr. Pattanayak in this regard.

Active members of OBSS, Sri Deba Prasad Parija, Sri Pabitra Mohan Maharatha and Sri Ranjan Kumar Raut helped the informal meeting with their valuable suggestions.

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Governance of Orissa in Oriya language being already put on the anvil, Orissa Bhasa Sangram Samiti (OBSS) shifted its re-agitation agenda which was to commence today.

OBSS convener Sankar Parida told the press that on evolution of a Joint Action Commiittee (JAC) comprising five ministers representing the Chief Minister and seven language activists representing the OBSS has decided to promulgate a set of Rules for working of the Orissa Official language Act, 1954 along with a Language Policy.

Program is accordingly drawn to discuss the Language Policy and the proposed Orissa Official Language Rules in the next meeting of the JAC to be held in the last week of this month. The minutes of the JAC would be placed before the Chief Minister under whose desire the JAC has been formed and thereafter, official steps shall be taken to accord necessary status of law to the Policy and the Rules.

OBSS is in frequent touch with the Ministers of the committee in this matter and on August 15, in an informal discussion with OBSS leadership, the Industries, School and Mass education Minister Sri Debi Prasad Mishra, who heads group of Ministers in this specific matter, has also indicated the government’s positive mind.

In view of this, the re-agitation agenda of the OBSS has been shifted sine die, Sri Parida informed.

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

It is interesting to note that a ruling party MP Sri Baisnab Charan Parida has been trying to create confusion in the general public in matter of governance of Orissa in Oriya.

Whether or not recognition crisis lies at its root is a different matter, but curiously, a few writers are also collaborating with him, who have no qualms in showing their willingness to act as per a very condemned proverbial Oriya saying – “Ghaita Maru Pachhe Sautuni Randa Heu” (Co-wife be stripped of bracelets even if that requires death of the husband). How funny!

Sri Parida has created a committee styled “Bhasa Suraksha Sammilani” (hereinafter called ‘Sammilani’) with assertions to campaign for implementation of the Orissa Official Language Act, 1954, without knowing why the Act has not been implemented; and he has made this Sammilani condemn the positive steps the State government has taken in response to the movement led by ‘Odia Bhasa Sangam Samiti’ (hereinafter called ‘Samiti’). The Government has already announced to implement the same Act and has added force to this announcement by holding the first meeting of Joint Action Committee (hereinafter called ‘JAC’) comprising five ministers representing the government and seven language activists representing the Bhasa Sangram Samiti, on August 1, 2015. Despite having tried to disturb this meeting, Parida had remained present all through the meeting and had witnessed the unambiguous cooperation of the Government with the Samiti and vice versa to implement, sans any fault, the Official Language Act. It is shocking, therefore, that, the Same Parida has condemned the Government’s positive proceeding with the Samiti to ensure governance of Orissa in Oriya and has misled some men of letters in this matter. In the document placed below, Parida has signed at serial No.6 a participant.

So, it is intriguing that he is opposing the decision already taken to implement the Language Act.

The signatories in the above document are: Ministers in the Committee – Sri Debi Prasad Mishra (chairman), Sri Arun Kumar Sahoo, Sri Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, Sri Pranab Prakash Das and Sri Bikram Keshari Arukh; and Samiti members – Sankar Parida (Convener), Prof. Natabar Satapathy, Poet Gajanan Mishra, Researcher Dr. Subrat Kumar Prusty, and Journalist Subhas Chandra Pattanayak. As Prof. Jantrana Parikshit, Dr. Bhagavan Prakash were unavoidably engaged in pre-fixed events, they were unable to attend the JAC on August 1.

In the said meeting, eminent linguist Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak, who was specially invited thereto, had suggested that steps should be taken to form a ‘Language Policy’ upon which Samiti Convener Sri Sankar Parida had proposed that Dr. Pattanayak should draft the same. The JAC had unanimously agreed.

Accordingly, Dr. Pattanayak has submitted to the JAC Chairman Sri Debi Prasad Mishra the initial part of his draft and has been discussing with Samiti members about details of what should be placed in the Policy finally. He has also joined intermittent meetings of the Samiti with the Chairman of JAC, Hon’ble Minister Sri Mishra.

The above picture depicts Dr. Pattanayak discussing with Sri Subhas Chandra Pattanayak his draft when Sri Sankar Parida, Convener of the Samiti is keenly watching and advancing his suggestions.

On the other hand, as per Resolution No.3 of the JAC, Sri Subhas Chandra Pattanayak has already submitted a draft of amendment to the Orissa Official Language Act, 1954 as it was found that the Act is inherently defective for which, even the then Chief Minister J.B.Patnaik, despite all his eagerness to ensure administration in Oriya, could not implement it.

There are no Rules to drive the Act and there is no provision in the Act for enabling the Government to frame the Rules. Unless this lacuna is removed, the Act cannot be implemented as desired in Orissa.

Hence Sri Subhas Chandra Pattanayak has formulated the necessary amendment to be made in the Act and has also submitted the same along with a set of the draft Rules to the Chairman of JAC Sri Mishra.

Dr. Subrat Kumar Prusty is translating the same into Oriya to facilitate the process for the Government to expedite the necessary and unavoidable legislation.

Both these documents shall be discussed and fine-tuned in the next meeting of JAC.

In the meantime, Hon’ble Minister Sri Mishra has taken two informal meetings with the Samiti, participated by Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak, Sri Sankara Parida, Dr. Subrat Kumar Prusty, Prof. Natabar Satapathy, Sri Beba Prasad Parija and Sri Subhas Chandra Pattanayak as a positive step towards governance of Orissa in Oriya. He has been apprised by the Samiti members of how to provide the support system for non-Oriya officers and functionaries to deal with their files in Oriya.

When such promising and positive steps are being taken by the Joint Committee of Ministers and Samiti Members, and when the Government has already pronounced to implement the Act in a pattern that shall have no scope to be contravened without attracting penal action; and when, therefore, Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak and Sri Subhas Chandra Pattanayak have formulated and submitted the Language Policy and draft Rules respectively to drive the Act ahead for complete governance of Orissa in Oriya, is there any justification for Parida to hold separate meetings in demand of implementation of the Act?

What else is the motive if not a design to foil all these positive steps?

We have earlier reported that Sri Baishnab Parida had tried to derail the discussion on August 1 by creating a very uncalled for, quarrelsome hubbub, deplorable enough to prompt a member of the ministerial group to ask a staff to close the door of the Secretariat Conference Hall, lest observers waiting outside get a negative message.

The above picture was taken when Sri Parida was addressing language activists under the canopy of the Samiti under chairmanship of Sri Sankar Parida at the hunger strike spot, fully endorsing the campaign and strongly condemning the Chief Minister for his negligence to implementation of the Language Act.

In this meeting, though he is a BJD member in the Rajyasabha, he had roared that Naveen Patnaik being in power and sure to be in power by polluting the voters with wine and money as always, has no botheration for Oriya language.

No wonder, the same Sri Parida is trying to foil the advance and positive steps the Government is taking for implementation of the Language Act.

Motive? May be recognition crisis, may be envy, may be anything else. Sad, this is happening.

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
In an article in Samaja, the daily newspaper now ill-famed for its notoriety under illegal control of Servants of People Society, but in popularity still stable because of being co-founded by another stalwart of Oriya nationalism Pt. Gopabandhu Das, famous linguist Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak has held that, the anglicized mentality of Orissa’s elite and administrators is the main cause of decline of utility of Oriya in Orissa.

In the article published on October 7 under the caption, ORIYA GATI O PRAGATI, he has detailed the mischief the State government has played in keeping the Oriya Official Language Act 1954 inconsequential till date.

The tremendous achievement obtained in national recognition of Oriya’s classical status ahead of major languages like Hindi and Bengali has not yet been used by the State Government to advantage of Orissa, he has pointed out.

The agreement of Government with Bhasa Sangram Samiti for governance of Orissa in Oriya that gave birth to a Ministerial Committee to act jointly with the Samiti to implement the Act has not proceeded in right earnest, he has noted.

Whereas the Oriya Bhasa Pratisthana specially created for study and furtherance of Oriya linguistic excellence has been derailed by the Government, its announcement to establish smart schools with English as the pivotal language is shocking and alarming specifically when the Government has agreed with the Samiti in matter of its demands for governance of Orissa in Oriya and when the call of the moment is creation of man power in Oriya by imparting school education in the mother tongue. More harmful than English to our people is the anglicized mindset of people in administration, Dr. Pattanayak has pointed out emphatically in this article.

We put below the same as a historical document.

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

We in Odia Bhasa Sangram Samiti (hereinafter Samiti)  are sure that governance of Orissa in Oriya is no more distant from reality. Our systematic movement is yielding results and the political government is determined to remove all obstacles from the way of governance of Orissa in Oriya. We have held many informal meetings with the Ministerial Committee on the subject and our last meeting in the chamber of Hon’ble Minister Debi Prasad Mishra has every reason for me to report that, Hon’ble Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is also eager to see that Orissa is governed in Oriya.

We, from our side, have fully honored the resolutions adopted in the Joint Action Committee comprising our representatives and the ministers representing the Chief Minister held on August 01, 2015 in the 2nd floor Conference Hall of the Secretariat. Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak was specifically requested to draft the “Language Policy” which he has done and submitted. Under resolution No.3, Subhas Chandra Pattanayak has submitted draft of necessary amendment to the Orissa Official Language Act, 1954 along with the draft of necessary Rules for driving the Act ahead. The State Government on its part has taken all steps for creation of a website on the subject wherein the above three drafts would be posted for the general public to suggest improvements, if any, they deem relevant to the purpose.The website will carry the original Act and all the official circulars in the matter so far for facilitating  formation of  public opinion and suggestions.

The Hon’ble CM will launch this historic site possibly by the 2nd week of November.

Sri Sankarsan Parida, Convener of the Samiti and Dr. Subrat Kumar Prusty, in consultation with Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak and Prof. Natabar Satapathy and other representatives thereof , have created a road-map for proper implementation of the Act.

Another informal meeting of the Joint Action Committee is on the anvil to finalize the agenda to be placed before the next formal meeting wherein the relevant official functionaries along with eminent men of letters with marked language activism would be invited to put forth their views. With such views as would be coming, the concrete proposals shall be fine-tuned and then the Government shall proceed to get the necessary legislation, so that penal action should be taken against whosoever contravenes of the Act.

It is most noteworthy that the CM is taking personal interest to ensure that the assurance given to the Bhasa Sangram Samiti on July 08, 2015 is honored in letter and spirit. And, the way the Ministers representing the CM are giving their unrestrained constructive cooperation to us in this matter has, in fact, created the necessary climate for governance of Orissa in Oriya.

When thus we feel that the mission of the movement is not far from success, we congratulate in advance all the friends whose language activism is going to succeed. We congratulate poet Gajanan Mishra whose ‘Fast onto Death’ jerked the entire Oriya population including all the Ministers and the CM out of slumber, consequent upon which the dreams of the revered founders of our language-based State is coming true within a few months. Students from Shantiniketan had come on cycle to help that dream come true. Students from Sambalpur are coming on foot to help that dream come true. We congratulate them all in advance. Media in general and Sambad Editor Soumya Ranjan Patnaik in particular deserve congratulations in advance as their cooperation to our campaign is a great factor in bringing the government to agreement with the Samiti for governance of Orissa in Oriya. Here are some pictures that would carry their contributions into the pages of history.

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Dear friends, a team of Oriya Bhasa Sangram Samiti comprising Dr. Subrat Kumar Prusty , Sri Pabitra Maharatha and me met the Joint Secretary of General Administration Sri G. Patra and DGM of OCAC Sri S. K. Tripathy in the Secretariat chamber of Sri Patra yesterday to ascertain if the website for public participation in governance of Orissa in Oriya is ready.

When Sri Patra is the desk officer in matter of our movement for governance of Orissa in Oriya, Sri Tripathy is building up the website meant to serve the mission of governance of Orissa in Oriya.

To our satisfaction, we found that OCAC has built up the prototype of the site styled ODISHA BHASA ADHINIYAMA.

The site is in Oriya and this being as per our demand; both the officers helped us inspecting it. We are convinced that the government is not backing out from the promise it has made to us for governance of Orissa in Oriya.
We are going to have our next informal meeting with the Ministerial committee chairman Sri Debi Prasad Mishra to finalize the contents of site and the agenda for the formal meeting. The Chief Minister may formally launch the website on the occasion of the said meeting, which, we propose to be an extended meeting participated by as many language activists as possible. Probably the date would be Nov. 7. In this site, shall be posted the Orissa Official Language Act, 1954 along with the draft of the necessary amendment we have advanced along with the Rules. The Language Policy formulated by Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak shall also be posted in this site vis-à-vis all the government circulars for public information and views. The general public shall directly post their views on the proposed Policy and Rules.

I deem it proper to inform that unless the amendment of the Act as we have suggested and the Rules we have submitted are legally adopted, with vetting as our legislative wisdom would deem proper, governance of Orissa in Oriya may not be possible. So, friends, when the site would be launched, freely put your unbiased considered views in invoking the proper provision.

Dear friends, I am hopeful that our mission shall succeed. And for this success, all of you friends who have sacrificed so much for our mother tongue at the call of our Bhasa Sangrama Samiti will be the happiest persons, I know.
While reporting this, I would like to place here a few samples of saws and slogans my dearest friends in Bhasa Sangrama Samiti have posted in various stages of our movement, the contributions of which are immense in the cause of our mother tongue so far.

While saying thus, I would like to warn the Government that these creations of our language bards be studied by them with utmost importance; because, if the Government – dominated by people with anglicized mentality – succumbs to unseen pressure and backs out, these compositions should show them to what explosive limit our language activists shall go to establish the dignity and paramountcy of our mother tongue in our motherland.

Orissa’s opportunistic writers who benefit from the purses of Oriya readers; but never bother about governance of Orissa in Oriya as well as Orissa government should take note of this.
Now to the saws and slogans:

Oriya Bhasa Sangram Samiti, under the leadership of Dr. Subrat Kumar Prusty, welcomed the students who had come walking on foot from Sambalpur to Bhubaneswar to ask the Government to ensure paramountcy of mother tongue Oriya in management of Orissa by appointing teachers in the subject of Oriya in all educational institutes within the limits of the State as the minimum duty of the Government to the people. Bhasa Sangram Samiti leader Poet and Advocate Gajanan Mishra had flagged off the foot marchers at Sambalpur on October 17.

Students from Sambalpur were joined with students from the Central University, Ravenshaw University, Utkal University and Sahantiniketan in the foot march under the auspices of Nikhila Utkal Oriya Honors Students Association.

They were welcomed and addressed by Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak, Debendra Prasad Das, Subhas Chandra Pattanayak, Ajay Kumar Jena and Hemanta Kumar Rath and others.

Below are a few relevant pictures on the welcome given to them on October 31 at the same spot on Mahatma Gandhi Marg where poet Gajanan Mishra had observed his fast on to death along with other hunger-strikers for implementation of Orissa Official Language Act, 1954. The fast was withdrawn on July 08,2015 on agreement of the Government with the Bhasa Sangram Samiti for implementation of the Act, following which a Joint Action Committee with Five Ministers representing the Government and seven language activists representing the Samiti has been formed and steps as regularly being reported in this site are being taken.

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Only a few hour left. The heroic battle of the people of Orissa for governance of Orissa in Oriya shall step into the 2nd phase of success at 10.30 AM today in Orissa Secretariat, as the Government’s statement affirming its decision for use of Oriya in every aspect of administration as per its agreement with the Odia Bhasa Sangrama Samiti, will come alive.

The first phase of success had come on July 8, 2015 Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik created a committee of five ministers to work with seven representatives of the Odia Bhasa Sangram Samiti that was spearheading the mass movement for implementation of the Orissa Official Language Act, 1954 languishing since the day of its legislation.

According to decision of the Chief Minister, a joint action committee for implementation of the Official Language Act was formed with Sri Debi Prasanna Mishra, Bikram Keshari Arukh, Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, Arun Kumar Sahoo and Pranab Prakash Das – all ministers and Sankarshan Parida, Gajanan Mishra, Dr. Subrat Kumar Prusti, Dr. Bhagavan Prakash, Dr. Natabar Satapathy, Journalist Subhas Chandra Pattanayak and Baishnab Charan Parida MP – all representatives of Odia Bhasa Sangram Samiti. Linguist Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak was taken into this committee where Principal Secretary of Law, Principal Secretary of GA, Director of Odia Bhasa Pratisthan were members from the executive side. Joint Secretary of GA department was taken in as convener of the Committee.

In its first formal meeting, when Dr. Prakash could not attend due to his absence at Bhubaneswar, the ruling party MP Baishnav C. Parida, despite being a member, had unsuccessfully tried to derail the discussion on selfish ground. He has been spewing venom against the Chief Minister whenever an opportunity comes and wants to use the language issue as a whip to beat the CM with. On seeing that the meeting was proceeding in the right direction he was obviously frustrated and the unnecessary noise he made was out of that frustration.

However, the meeting had proceeded with very clear and constructive cooperation of the rest of the representatives of the Bhasa Sangram Samiti. Three resolutions were adopted in this meeting. (1) Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak would draft and submit a language policy; (2) an user-friendly website dedicated entirely to implementation of the Language Act would be created and (3) members of the Committee would advance their suggestions as should be helpful in implementation of the Act.

Accordingly, when Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak has submitted a draft Language Policy Sri Subhas Chandra Pattanayak has submitted draft of the legal tools necessary for implementation of the Act. Both these documents have been placed in the site created in Oriya for Orissa.

Any legitimate citizen of Orissa can submit his observation and/or suggestions in the matter of implementation of the language Act in a specific page provided in the site and can watch official responses thereto.

The site will not only ensure governance of Orissa in Oriya, but also empower the general public to intervene in case of any deviation.

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Our struggle for governance of Orissa in Oriya is fetching success step by step despite a ruling party MP trying to misguide the people.

In reply to a question, i.e. UDAQ No. 2325 from Member Nabakishore Das, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has told the Assembly on 14th December that the government is now finalizing the Rules to make it a must for the authorities to use Oriya as the Official Language.

The Chief Minister has almost admitted that notwithstanding enactment and instant enforcement of Orissa Official Language Act in 1954, which had stipulated that “Oriya shall be the language to be used for all or any of the official purposes of the State of Orissa”, the administration is not running in Oriya.

We had, in our meetings with the ministers, submitted various departmental circulars that had directed the departmental officers to work in Oriya language. These circulars were not traceable in headquarters. We had collected them – credit goes certainly to Joint Convener of Odia Bhasa Sangram Samiti Dr. Subrat Kumar Prusty – from the guard files of field offices at great pain and given copies thereof to the government to show how the Act was not functioning. In his reply referred to above, the Chief Minister has cited those circulars. Despite such circulars, the officers are not using Oriya language for official purpose.

In course of my investigation I stumbled upon the order of Chief Minister J. B. Patnaik, as he then was, directing all offices to use Oriya as the language of administration. This was a mandatory order from the Chief Minister of the constitutional government.

It is surprising that despite such clear orders from the Chief Minister himself, officers did not care to use Oriya.

In the regime of the present Chief Minister, various orders have also been issued for administration in Oriya; such as GA Department letter No.10552 of 17/4/2013. Another instance is letter No. 16086 of 12/6/2013 of the same department that controls all other departments. Yet, the officers did not use Oriya as official language.
What could be the reasons of this?

On research I found, there were no Rules to drive the Act ahead. The contraveners of the Act should have been subjected to disciplinary action; but there was no provision to administer discipline, including necessary prosecution for offense against the State. I found the Act itself had no provision for framing of the Rules. The Officers knew this lacuna and knew that they should be enjoying immunity under the shade of the deficient Act even if they continue to contravene it.

To eradicate this lacuna, I submitted the draft of proposed amendment to the Act of 1954 along with a draft of the proposed Rules to the Chairman of Official Language Advisory Committee Hon’ble Minister Sri Debi Prasad Mishra. Behind this was the collective wisdom and support of the entire leadership of the Odia Bhasa Sangram Samiti led by eminent poet Shankarshan Parida and fortunately for the State of Orissa, the Chairman and members of the ministerial committee formed by the Chief Minister wholeheartedly appreciated the initiative. The same has officially been posted in the dedicated website for public suggestions if any.

We are most happy to note that the Chief Minister has approved the website titled ODIARE SHASANA entirely dedicated to our demand for governance of Orissa in Oriya. On his behalf, Minister Debi Prasad Mishra who heads the Official Language Advisory Committee (formerly the Joint Action Committee) has launched this site in the presence of all the Ministers and representatives of the Odia Bhasa Sangram Samiti, that constitute the Committee and author of the proposed Language Policy Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak.

We congratulate the Chief Minister for having informed the House as noted supra that the Rules are currently under active consideration of the Government for adoption.

Once the Act is amended and Rules adopted, no Officer, whatsoever be his / her rank and status, would dare to play mischief with our people’s right to get governance of our State in our mother tongue Oriya.

We put below the Assembly document carrying the question and the CM’s answer as a matter of documentation.

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

The demand of Oriya Bhasa Sangram Samiti (OBSS) was for governance of Orissa in Oriya. The State Government had agreed and had come to an agreement with OBSS to work out details of how to make it a reality in practice.

When the details were formulated and placed in a dedicated website specifically created to monitor governance of Orissa in Oriya, in a surprise and baffling move, the Chief Minister has reduced the State to Official circulars, Advertisements and Name-plates, in a meeting held today the 17th December in the Secretariat.

The meeting was held behind back of the other part of the agreement, i.e. the OBSS and the Press Note issued by the CMO makes it clear that the Chief Minister has drifted away from the decision for governance of Orissa in Oriya.

The official caption given to the Press Note is clear enough to suggest that the CM is not for governance of Orissa in Oriya. To his perception, issuance of official circulars, official advertisements and writing of name-plates constitute the whole gamut of governance!

We will discuss the Press Note in a separate post. Let us now see what does it say.

After the CMO issued this Press Note, the leadership of OBSS hold an emergency meeting and passed the following resolutions.

We place it here for records.

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!

We have now enough reason to apprehend that the Chief Minister is trying to render our movement for governance of Orissa in Oriya inconsequential.

I will come to the crux of the issue in course of the discussion. At the outset let me make it clear that Oriya Language has created Orissa and therefore, it is Oriya language that must rule over Orissa.

Had there been no Oriya Language, there would have been no land called Orissa. Had there been no land called Orissa, there would have been no chief minister called Naveen Patnaik.

So, it is better for Naveen babu to know that governance of Orissa in Oriya is not our begging; it is our right. For Oriya language to rule over Orissa, we don’t need the Chief Minister’s mercy.

I will come to this phenomenon later. Let me first tell Naveen’s sycophants, who pride in posing elite and, imitating the blue-colored jackal of Mitralava, howl in English to the disadvantage of the Oriya-speaking people in Orissa, that, their forefathers would have died forlorn as servants of the “native servants” of the British in neighboring provinces, had Oriya Language not created Orissa as a separate province for them to live in and prosper.

Wherever Oriya was the mother tongue, the Oriya speaking people of that place had wanted to amalgamate their areas into a single province for better management of their individual and collective affairs and in that process they had very ably fought out the nasty designs of the native servants of the British such as the Bengali, Hindi and Telugu speaking people. The main thrust behind their movement was the necessity to preserve and promote the magnificence of their mother tongue. Their mother tongue Oriya had guided them into success in this movement.

Therefore, Orissa belongs to Oriya language.

People’s eagerness to see a province of their own as quickly as possible, of course, left some Oriya speaking tracks outside the geographical limits of modern Orissa; but the Orissa we are living in, is undoubtedly the product of Oriya Language.

To educate the Chief Minister and his sycophants further on this matter, I would like to quote from the immortal poet Gangadhar Meher where he has described how Utkala Bharatee (Oriya Language) labored to create Orissa. Through Meher, she chided various Kings for their negligence to the need of amalgamation of all the tracks under her letters to save her identity, which the envious crooks of rival tongues belonging to neighboring provinces, serving as “native servants” of their British masters, were conspiring to destroy.

Cries of the Mother Tongue

I am quoting only a few instances of how various Kings were jerk-waken by Utkal Bharatee (Oriya Language) to unite with the people in their battle for their mother tongue, by cunningly using the method of scolding for their failure to have woken up in time. Such were the cries of the mother tongue (Utkal Bharatee):

(1) In reprimanding the Bolangir Patna King Ramachandra Dev for his indulgence in hunting tigers instead of coalescing with the people for the cause of the mother tongue, Utkal Bharatee had said:

(2) In Meher’s pen, Utkal Bharatee had upbraided the King of Kalahandi Raghukishore Dev on the same ground in the following terms –

(3) Noteworthy is the way the King of Barapalli Harihar Singh was admonished in the pen of his subject Gangadhar. In those days, Kings were more frightening than Yama, the ‘God of Death’ to their subjects. Meher was an inhabitant of Barapalli. It was normally impossible for a poor subject like him to scold his King for his negligence to get united with the people in the cause of their language. So, Utkal Bharatee used the poet to berate the King by way of linking his silence to his anxiety to preserve his royal title, lest that be quashed by the British that had deliberately promulgated Hindi as official language in Oriya speaking tracks. It was Utkal Bharat that was to dress down the King as follows:

Many instances of how our mother tongue Oriya inspired her children in the British Raj to form our province has been given in my eBook ORISSA PRADESH STRUSTIRE GANAMADHYAMA and its forthcoming printed edition.

With these instances on records, be it known without any ambiguity that, Oriya Language has created Orissa, which has given asylum to Naveen Patnaik after his father’s death in a rejected condition.

Asylum misread

He is continuously in power, because this magnificent soil has been granting his prayers for votes, despite all his failings, in the best tradition of mercy shown to people under asylum.

But it seems, he is misreading this magnanimity as his birthright to rule over Orissa. And under this false notion, he is behaving as if he is showing mercy to people of Orissa by declaring to grant limited use of Oriya Language in administration, as is evident from the press note issued by his office on 17th December and the advertisement dated today.

Different stands

He had told the Assembly on 14th December that for implementation of the Act, his government was working on necessary Rules. But neither the press note issued by his office on 17th December nor the Advertisement of today  make any mention of it.

The press note shows that he had taken a meeting with the five Ministerial members of the Committee which comprised, besides the said Ministers, the representatives of the Orissa BhasaSangramSamiti, (hereinafter called the Samiti) without informing them of this meeting.

Committee no product of CM’s sweet will

This Committee was not a product of the CM’s sweet will. It was formed on the basis of agreement with the people represented through the Samiti on implementation of the Act, on the basis of which, Poet Gajanan Mishra had withdrawn his fast on to death. Along with Sri Mishra, many activists including this writer had joined the fast and whole of the State had woken up against the government of Naveen Patnaik. Situation had become so threatening to his smooth sailing in power that he was compelled to declare that, use of Oriya as Official Language would now be a must. Accordingly he had entered into agreement with the Samiti to form a joint committee comprising ministers and the Samiti representatives to formulate the process of implementation of the Act and to monitor the implementation.

The Committee has already met three times and representatives of the Samiti have made the best of their contributions to the cause of Oriya Language, including ‘Language Policy’ outlined by Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak and draft of necessary legislation by this writer. Both of these milestone documents are published by the government at http://bhasha.odisha.gov.in/upload_files/pdf/notification/Vasaniti.pdf
and http://bhasha.odisha.gov.in/upload_files/pdf/notification/Draft%20Odia%20Rule.pdf respectively in the dedicated website at http://www.odia.odisha.gov.in/

Convener of the Samiti poet Sankarshan Parida, Prof. Natabar Satapathy, and Dr. Subrat Kumar Prusty have contributed most valuable advice and all documentary input to facilitate the implementation of the Act.

But, surprisingly, the CM has taken the meeting with the ministerial members of the Committee without the members of the Samiti and made certain declaration unilaterally that neither tally with the crux of the agreement nor with the purpose of the Committee nor with the aim and objects of the Act.

This is most unfortunate and never acceptable for the people of Orissa.

CM has been contravening the Act

During the16 years of his tenure as CM, Mr. Naveen Patnaik has not honored the Orissa Official Language Act. This is an offense.

The Act has mandated that, “Oriya shall be the language to be used for all or any of the official purposes of the State of Orissa”.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has willfully contravened this Act ever since he has become the Chief Minister. He has never used Oriya as Official Language in his own office so far.

Encouraged by this continuous contravention of the Act by the Chief Minister himself, the entire administration of Orissa has discarded Oriya as Official Language and resultantly our mother tongue has declined in its value of utility.

Necessity of new legislation

Why did Orissa Official Language Act – the first amongst all the regional Acts on official language – failed to operate, notwithstanding being the act of the people’s heart? I tried to find out the reason.

And, I found, the Act was inherently defective inasmuch as it had no provision to take to task its contraveners.

This is why, no action has been taken against any contravener of this Act since its enactment, even during the days of J.B.Patnaik, who had tried to implement the Act and was refusing to peruse the files if not put with notes in Oriya.

As a member of the Samiti in the ministerial Committee, it was my duty to suggest a remedy. Hence I thought it prudent to suggest for Rules to implement the Act. There was a problem. The Act had no provision to make and promulgate the necessary Rules. So I advanced a draft amendment to the Act to provide for the Rules and a draft of Rules to drive the Act ahead. My friends in the Samiti endorsed the same and Chairman of the Ministerial Committee Sri Debi Prasad Mishra and other four Ministers – Bikram Keshari Arukh, Arun Kumar Sahoo, Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak and Pranab Prakash Das – accepted the suggestion and directed the GA department to help the Principal Secretary of Law to proceed for legislation thereof with vetting if necessary. Therefore, the CM had told the House on 14th December that the Rules were getting prepared to implement the Act. Media had given his answer due publicity and the Samiti had wholeheartedly welcomed the his reply.

New attempt to sabotage the Act

But sadly and surprisingly on December 17 the CM took a different turn and deviated from the position of 14th December.

In his new posture, he thrashed down the scope of the Act from “all or any of the official purposes of the State of Orissa” to “circulars”, “advertisements” and “nameplates”. In the advertisement of today, there is no trace of implementation of the Act, whereas “safety of Oriya Language” and “development” thereof are the two items projected as purpose of the CM!

These are nothing but instances of wordy acrobatics devised to fizzle out the movement of the people for governance of Orissa in Oriya.

The Oriya Language has remained safe by her own strength, foiling the conspiracy of the Bengali, Hindi and Telugu speaking people serving as “native servants” of the British. Rejecting their claim of superiority over Oriya Language, the First Linguistic Survey of India had clearly held that Oriya as a language was so superior and splendid and so rich in vocabulary that “neither Bengali nor Hindi nor Telugu can vie with it”. And now, thanks to Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak, Ramachandra Khuntia and Dr. Subrat Kumar Prusty, Oriya language has been recognized as Classical Language of India, when neither Bengali nor Hindi are considered for this status. So, the Chief Minister’s “safety” slogan is a contrived attempt to misguide the people. Development of the language doesn’t depend on digitization of books. Has he ever studied how many numbers of rare palm-leaf manuscripts have been missing from the State Museum Library and destroyed in the mouths of the moths? How many of them edited and published? Can he say, what happened to manuscripts and books collected by the directorate of Culture from Kabichandra Kali Charan Pattanayak’s residence after his death? What sort of preservation he is saying? Wordy acrobatics shall not develop the language. Its utility potential can do. Therefore, our demand is for implementation of the Official Language Act, because only the official use of the language can increase its utility potential and drive its development ahead. As the Act has no provision to punish the contraveners thereof, we had drafted and submitted the necessary Rules, as noted supra.

But the press note of 17th December issued by his Office and the Advertisement published by his Public Relations Department today are totally silent on the Rules suggested by this writer on behalf of the Samiti and the Language Policy submitted by Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak as proposed by the Samiti and resolved for in the 1st meeting of the Committee.

Old Tricks

The press note and the advertisement issued by the CMO and DIPR respectively are repetition of old tricks used many times to hoodwink the people.

In the intro of the press note it was asserted that the Act shall be strictly implemented. There is nothing new in this assertion. It prods me to ask the CM:

Was it not the direction of the Act when it was enacted and promulgated with “immediate effect” carrying the stipulation that “Oriya shall be the language to be used for all or any of the official purposes of the State of Orissa”?

Was it not the position when Chief Minister J.B.Patnaik (as he then was) had issued direction to all his ministerial colleagues on 3 July 1989 to use Oriya Language strictly in every case in every office under their respective control, with immediate effect?

Therefore, the CM’s fresh assertion in his press note that the Act shall be strictly implemented is nothing but repetition of earlier positions and carries no meaning without framing the necessary Rules to punish whosoever uses any other language than Oriya in governance of Orissa.

Modus operandi

The modus operandi behind the CM’s new posture is quite intriguing.

The Rules I have submitted on behalf of the Samiti carry provision for punishment and therefore perhaps, it is disturbing for him, because he is a habitual and chronic contravener of the Orissa Official Language Act. Law doesn’t discriminate between the CM and a common functionary. I am afraid; this is the reason behind his new posture.

Joke played

In this new posture, on December 17, the CM has played a joke on Oriya Language by saying that the Orissa Official Language Act shall be strictly implemented. This joke is discernible in the very fact that from that day to this day, he has not given any order in Oriya and his office has been working in English language as before. In other words, he has been contravening the Official Language Act even after declaring that the same shall be strictly implemented.

Harmful design

The harmful design of the Chief Minister is discernible in his press note where implementation even of the purpose of the Official Language Act has been left to decision to be arrived at after studying the language scenario prevalent in other provinces.

Orissa administration in Oriya language cannot be allowed to be dependent on practices prevalent in other provinces.

As has clearly been told above, Oriya Language has created Orissa as a province.

Therefore, the entire province of Orissa belongs to Oriya Language.

There cannot be any compromise on this position and any mischief that makes the governance of Orissa in Oriya dependent on practices elsewhere would stand rejected by the people of Orissa as a harmful design contrived by non-Oriyas and anti-Oriyas. The false assertion in the advertisement today is a creation of this harmful design.

Wake up dear all who love the mother tongue and the motherland.

Bhubaneswar Bureau

The fourth meeting of the Ministerial Committee on governance of Orissa in Oriya was held at 4 pm on Tuesday in the 2nd floor conference hall of the Secretariat under chairmanship of Minister Debi Prasad Mishra. Sri Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak was the only minister besides Sri Mishra who represented the five member team of Ministerial Committee. From Oriya Bhasa Sangram Samiti, M/s Sankar Parida, Gajanan Mishra, Subhas Chandra Pattanayak, Prof. Natabar Satpathy and Dr. Subrat Kumar Prusti attended besides Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak and Baisnav Parida.

Not only three ministers were absent, but also most of the officers, who were required to be present and apprise the committee of action taken on the Chief Minister’s post-Assembly declaration 14 point decision as advancement towards governance of Orissa in Oriya, were conspicuous by their absence. As a result of this, only two items out of 14 could be touched upon.

The CM has declared that an Oriya Open University would be established. On query from members it was seen that the officials are in utter confusion on this. It was decided to take up this matter in subsequent session. The 2nd item was item No.9 in the list of 14. It carries the CM’s decision to award cash assistance for excellence in Oriya language “for research in Oriya language”. The officials of Higher Education Department informed the Committee that, students who shall be fetching 90% marks in Oriya in +2 course, shall be awarded with one-time cash prize worth Rs.20 thousand under this item. It clearly indicated that the officials have either misread the CM’s order or have misled the CM to announce such a decision without application of mind to the real issue. When the announcement is unambiguous that the Government shall give cash assistance to scholars of excellence in Oriya “for research in Oriya language”, wherefrom the officials got the idea that this announcement means lifetime cash assistance of Rs. 20 thousand to +2 students who obtain 90% marks in their final examination? There was no answer to members’ query excepting conundrums hurled from the authorities. Except these two items from the CM’s 14 point announcement, nothing was even mentioned of. Before the formal meeting, higher education officials had informed that steps are being taken to fill up 170 junior teacher posts in Oriya in aided/nongovernment junior colleges. There was no answer to total number of existing vacancies in Oriya department of the higher education institutes, particularly in government colleges and universities. To a suggestion that all the colleges and universities should be equipped with department of Oriya language, officials kept mum.

Members wanted to know as to how ‘Sirisa Sarasa’ an exhibition funded and run by Panchayat Raj Department is having all its display boards in English when item number 4 and 5 of the CM’s announcement asserts that only Oriya shall be the language of display in such functions. The Information and Public Relations department as well as Labour and Employment departments were earmarked to speak on these two items. They were absent.

Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak had circulated in the meeting some suggestions including how to promote Oriya language at School level. The same was not taken cognizance of.

Member Gajanan Mishra raised the issue of use of Oriya language in lower courts dealing with CPC and CrPC and suggested that the government should make no delay in asking the lower courts to transact their business in Oriya, as the said two codes specifically provide for that. The law department was not present to throw any light on it. On the other hand, education department officials stated that the Orissa Official Language Act has been amended to the extent of banning use of Oriya in lower courts. As member Subhas Chandra Pattanayak challenged the veracity of this statement. an official read out a notification of GA department issued on 29th March 1985. Pattanayak maintained that a Notification is no amendment of the Act. in 1985, the Act was amended only to accommodate “international for of Indian numerals” in Oriya typewriters. However this shows how ingenuous are some officers in misleading the people in language matter.

To insistent suggestions from Dr. Subrat Kumar Prusti and Dr. Natabar Satpathy that the Orissa Public Service Commission should conduct its examinations in Oriya language, so that Oriya can emerge as the language for bread and butter, the Principal Secretary of General Administration department informed that the OPSC is not willing to set questions in Oriya as there is apprehension of leakage thereof. Can Oriya boys and girls be debarred from OPSC exams in Oriya on such flimsy grounds? There was no answer from the official side. Member Sankar Parida, Baishnab Parida, Gajanan Mishra and language adviser Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak insisted that, pending suggested amendment of the Act, official communications from the higher offices to lower offices and vice versa should be in Oriya language sans any delay.

Sensing the predicament caused by lack of official preparedness, chairman of the ministerial Committee asked the Principal secretary of GA department to take up the matter with the Chief Secretary who must call the secretaries of all the departments soon a day this month to prepare a faithful progress report on the CM’s 14 point announcement and assured to ensure the final vetting of the draft of amendment to the Act and draft Rules submitted by Subhas Chandra Pattanayak for legislation in the coming session of the Assembly.

Bhubaneswar Bureau

The essential amendment to Orissa Official Language Act, 1954 and creation of corresponding Rule for strict implementation of the Act, submitted by Sri Subhas Chandra Pattanayak, who represents Oriya Bhasa Sangram Samiti in the Ministerial Committee specifically created for governance of Orissa in Oriya language, would perhaps be placed before Orissa Legislative Assembly in its coming session. Hopefully the Assembly would adopt this essential amendment of the Act as suggested by Sri Pattanayak and then the suggested Rules.

When the Act was created on 14th October 1954, it escaped legislative wisdom to equip it with provisions to create necessary Rules to implement the Act. It only said, “without prejudice to the provisions of Article 346 and 347 of the Constitution, Oriya shall be the language to be used for all or any of the official purposes of the State of Orissa” [Section 2 (1)] and the Act “shall come into force at once” [Section 1 (3)]. Yet, at the same time, it was restricted under Sub-Section (2) of Section 2, where it was laid down that its entire promulgation would depend on government authorization, as we see in its mischief: “The State Government may, by Notification, direct that in any specific area and with effect from any specified date Oriya shall be used in respect of such official purposes as specified in the Notification.

When thus executive orders were granted predominance upon the Act, that had, under Section 1 (2), mandated that the Act shall cover whole of Orissa and under Section 1 (3) had given the Act “Immediate effect”, in 1963 Mr. Biju Patnaik, who was entirely averse to use of Oriya as official language, sabotaged the Section 2 of the Act, that had made it a must for use of Oriya as the official language in “all and any of the official purposes of Orissa” by inserting Section 3-A in the Act in 1963.

The original Act under Section 3 had stipulated that,

All Bills to be introduced or amendment thereto to be moved in Orissa Legislative Assembly;
All Acts passed by the State legislature;
All ordinances promulgated by the Governor under Article 213 of the Constitution; and
All orders, Rules, Regulations and Bye-Laws issued by the State Government under the Constitution or under any Law made by Parliament or the Legislature of the State;
shall be in Oriya.

But Biju Patnaik very shrewdly inserted Section 3-A, which empowered the government to use English “in addition to Oriya for the transaction of business in Legislature of the State of Orissa”. It received assent of the Governor on 19th October 1963.

After this amendment, English language has completely engulfed Orissa. Lest the people locate the saboteur, in the present regime, the officially approved law books as well as the dedicated website on administration in Oriya are showing this amendment to have been made by J.B.Patnaik in 1985.

As far as J.B.Patnaik was concerned, he took genuine interest in implementing the Orissa Official Language Act, took steps to procure Oriya Typewriters, to produce Engish to Oriya and Oriya to English administrative lexicon and to provide for development of and training in Oriya shorthand to equip the administration for governance of Orissa in Oriya. He also required his cabinet colleagues to ensure that files are prepared in Oriya language without any deviation.

But Oriya could not be used for “all and and any official purpose” as laid down in the Act. Chief Ministers like Biju Patnaik and Naveen Patnaik grossly contravened the Act everyday, as they never used Oriya language in perusing the files and issuing their orders. With these CMs contravening the Act everyday in all their official activities, Orissa’s administration got engulfed entirely by English language and non-Oriya interest fetched official support as Oriya people perished. Moved to the core by seeing their fellow beings in such quagmire, sometimes, some patriotic Oriya-by-birth officers issued circulars to their respective subordinates for transaction of administrative businesses in Oriya. But no subordinate officer cared.

This is because, there is no provision for any action against any functionary in case of contravention of the Act by him or her. There is no Rules to drive the Act ahead. And the Act has no provision under which the Rules may be created.

On analyzing this syndrome, member of the Committee Sri Subhas Chandra Pattanayak has submitted the draft amendment to the Act and the draft of corresponding Rules with provision for penal action against the contraveners of the Act.

Chairman of the Committee Minister Debi Prasad Mishra told the Committee that the Law department is presently vetting the same and steps are being taken to place the vetted draft before the Assembly in the coming budget session for legislation.

This is a very positive step the government is taking and the legislation would certainly change the scenario and there shall emerge the most congenial environment for governance of Orissa in Oriya, it is hoped.

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
Language activists of Orissa under the banner of Oriya Bhasa Sangram Samiti have been demanding for a University entirely dedicated to creation Oriya manpower to manage all offices and workplaces and centers of public concerns in and relating to governance of Orissa in Oriya language and to make Oriya Language the language of earning, besides superintending education in Oriya Language in every stage.

Government had agreed. But shockingly, the Chief Minister has tried to divert attention from the Oriya University to an Oriya Open University. The Oriya Bhasa Sangram Samiti is opposed to this drift.

In spite of this, the government has proceeded to have a workshop on creation of the Oriya Open University and invited the representatives of the Samiti in the ministerial Committee to participate in the workshop. It would be held at 10 AM on 29th this month.

This is such a serious matter that needs collective wisdom and collective application of minds of the people whose mother tongue is Oriya and who would like not to be hoodwinked by administration.

Oriya University is the necessity, not an Open University. This is what the Government ought to understand.

Under the circumstances, the Samiti urges upon the people of Orissa to deeply cogitate on the issue and to advise the Samiti members as to what should be the crux of their views in the workshop.

The advice should as quickly as possible, be sent to: orissamatters@gmail.com

(By arrangement with an Official Source)

Outstanding demand of Orissa’s language activists was for a dedicated and research-centric University of Oriya Language for imparting all round knowledge in Oriya, relevant to necessities of Orissa in particular and the country and the globe in general, and for equipping Oriya language with necessary ability to match the modern challenges and to make it the language of engagement and income, success and prosperity, over and above, taking all necessary academic steps to retrieve, preserve and enhance the excellence of this splendid language.

Ms. Sipra Mallick, then a ruling party member, had moved a private member’s Bill for Oriya University, in the Orissa Legislative Assembly, which she had withdrawn as the Government declared to bring out the Bill officially to create the University.

After withdrawal of the Bill, no official step was taken to honor the assurance given to the House.

The term ended and the ruling party was to face the people.

So, as a tactics for vote fetching, the ruling party placed in its manifesto 2014 that given the mandate, it would establish the Oriya University.

As elapsing time went barren, the Oriya Bhasa Sangram Samiti hereinafter called: Sangram Samiti, under the banner of which, the people of Orissa have been agitating for governance of the State in Oriya, took up the issue as its demand and it was apparently accepted, when the Government came to an agreement with the Sangram Samiti to implement the Orissa Official Language Act, 1954.

But suddenly the CM drifted away from the agreement with the Sangram Samiti and behind back of its representatives in the ministerial committee, declared that an open university would be established. This site as well as the Sangram Samiti vehemently objected to the CM’s announcement.

Then again the ministerial committee comprising the five ministers and the seven representative of the Sangram Samiti met for the fourth time under presidentship of Minister Debi Prasad Mishra. It was decided that instead of Open University a regular University by the name Oriya University will be established subject to collective wisdom a workshop should bring in before end of December 2016 so that necessary legislation could be created in the coming session of the Assembly.

Accordingly, a whole day workshop was held under Presidentship of eminent Linguist Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak on 29th December in the N.C.D.S. auditorium, Bhubaneswar.

HIDDEN AGENDA

The program contained the hidden agenda. According to it, the workshop was not at all meant for the Oriya University, despite clear decision in the fourth Ministerial Committee on January 12 that the university shall be a regular and research centric University to be named as “Oriya Viswavidyalaya” (The Oriya University).

The workshop to commence at 11 AM, was to hear, as per the official agenda, N.C.D.S. workshop coordinator Dr. Rashmi Mishra on why the “Proposed Oriya Open University”.

At 11.20, Dr. Shashi Bhusan Padhi, Special Secretary, Higher Education Department, Govt. of Orissa, was scheduled to speak on the purpose of the “Proposed Oriya Open University”.

And, on this basis, the agenda was to proceed to discuss on “Oriya Open University” at 12.30 through two fringe items like (1) “Necessity of Oriya Language in the field of administration, education and employment” and (2) “Government’s approach to Oriya language education and training and usable Oriya language”.

In responding to the first item, Poet Gajanan Mishra, whose fast-on-to-death satyagraha for implementation of the Act of 1954 had strengthened the new phase of Oriya Movement on the united platform of the Sangram Samiti, expressed serious concern over the mischief of the mandarins in the matter of non-implementation of the Act. He presented the plight of the people in the grassroots as they are being governed in English language, which they do not know and understand. He declared that if the Sangram Samiti’s demands are not fulfilled and necessary provision for punishment against contravention of the Official Language Act is not legislated, the movement shall again be revived with effect from April 1, Utkal Divas.

Representative of the Sangram Samiti Subhas Chandra Pattanayak emphasized that, the Orissa Official Language Act, 1954, which is in force, has laid down that, for all and any official purpose, Oriya shall be the language in the State of Orissa. So the necessity of Oriya language in administration, education and employment cannot be questioned and subjected to any review in any workshop. The first item in the agenda, therefore, was sans any merit for deliberation, he said.

The other item was discarded as the Government did not come forward to apprise the workshop of its “Approach to Oriya language education and training and usable Oriya language”.

Naturally the agenda rushed into discussion on the issue of “Oriya Open University”.

CRUX OF THE MISCHIEF

At the beginning, Convener of the Sangram Samiti Sri Shankarshan Parida vehemently criticized the agenda that was set for discussion on “Oriya Open University”. The mandarins cannot be allowed to tamper with the decision taken in the fourth meeting of the Joint Action Committeee (Ministerial Committee) on January 12 to establish the Oriya University. It was entirely wrong on part of the mandarines to have tampered with that decision to limit the workshop to the “Proposed Oriya Open University”, he thundered.

Ruling Party MP Sri Baishnav Charan Parida pooh-poohed the necessity of a new university, whether regular or open, when existing Oriya departments in Universities and Autonomous Colleges are having no adequate teachers. Oriya Chairs in BHU or JNU will not help Oriya language exactly as rain in New Delhi does not eliminate draught in Orissa, he said. He supported the endeavor to amend the Act and creation of Rules to implement the Act by providing for accountability in case of contravention. Yet, his pooh-poohing the issue of the University irked the participants.

The Sangram Samiti threatened to walk out if the subject of discussion does not change from “Proposed Oriya Open University” to Oriya University.

On coming to know of the agenda in advance, Sangram Samiti convener Sri Sankarshan Parida had informed the authorities that he and his team would oppose, if the workshop was to work on Open University. So a banner was created depicting that, the workshop was on Oriya University. But the agenda was not corrected. Topic of the workshop remained “Proposed Oriya Open University”. This had annoyed the participants to such extent that Prof. Kishore Basa of Utkal University had to declare that if Open University was to the subject for the workshop, he would walk out.

THE CHANGED STANCE

Sensing the mood of the participants, Special Secretary, Higher Education, Dr. Padhi changed the stance and said that, the discussion should continue and if majority of the participants opt against the “Proposed Oriya Open University” and prefer the regular University, then that would be reported to the Government for further decision. This normalized the situation and discussion started.

Dr. Subrat Kumar Prusty of the Sangram Samiti gave a documented presentation of various language Universities of India where globally relevant and highly technical subjects are being taught in mother tongues of the people with remarkable success. He urged upon all the participants to support the demand for a regular research-centric multi-subjected University in Oriya which would enhance the excellence of the language. All the participants supported the demand, but not emotionally.

Prof. Gouranga Charan Dash of Ravenshaw University expressed anguish over the fact that when excellence of Oriya language, its linguistic distinction, its heritage and spread is being emphasized upon, no institute of higher studies in Oriya has any linguist in the faculty. A specific University in Oriya language can deal effectively with this lacuna, he said.

The preference for the regular Oriya University was based on scholarly realities and on correct analysis of the position. As for example, when former Principal of Ravenshaw College, as then it was, Prof. Amulya Kumar Panda declared that, the University in Oriya language is the dear dream of every Oriya, and for excellence in education and research in Oriya language,which would be the best of working language for Orissa, the regular University in Oriya language is unquestionably a must; Prof. Shrikant Mohapatra, working VC of Orissa Open University supported the Oriya University concept on the basis of the position that, for research in Oriya language or in any subject through Oriya language, the “Proposed Oriya Open University” cannot be the competent University, as the UGC has put a ban on Open Universities in registering and guiding research projects.

Prof. Kishore Basa of Utkal University was very emphatic on the necessity of a regular Oriya University, which, if established, would transform Oriya Language into an excellent working language. The proposal for “Oriya Open University” was not at all acceptable to him.

Vice Chancellor of Utkal University Prof. Ashok Das, Linguist Prof. Khageswar Mohapatra, Prof. Natabar Satpathy, Prof. Raj Kishore Mishra, Ex-MLA Dr. Sipra Mallick,Director of Orissa Bhasa Pratisthan Dr. Tamasa Das Mohapatra were among the other speakers who enriched the deliberations of the workshop where VCs and eminent professors of various Universities of the State shared their considered views.

The workshop was convened to formulate details of the University; but the confusion over its regular vis-a-vis open status consumed the day.

However, after the scholarly presidential address of Dr. Debi Prasanna pattanayak, the entire house was one in favor of Oriya University, and in rejection of the “Proposed Oriya Open University” mooted by the government.

Minister of Higher Education Dr. Pradip Panigrahi assured that his department would convey the Government of the recommendation of the workshop for the regular University in Oriya Language, which would be named Oriya University.

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

If it is not subjected to subterfuge, the amendment to Orissa Official Language Act, 1954 that I have suggested and which is placed in the official website on governance of Orissa in Oriya, will be placed before the Legislative Assembly in the coming session and would be adopted with the strength of legislative wisdom.

Fast-on-to-death strike by poet Gajanan Mishra and creation of the apex organization of all language activists of Orissa under the banner of Oriya Bhasa Sangram Samiti and our unperturbed dedicated battle for governance of our motherland in our mother tongue, forced the government to come to an agreement with this Sangram Samiti to implement the Act as per its advice.

On the basis of this agreement, Gajanan Mishra broke his fast along with all of us who were in sympathy fast with him.

According to this agreement with the Sangram Samiti, an advisory committee for implementation of the Act was constituted with five ministers and seven representatives of the Sangram Samiti. The first meeting unanimously accepted our advice to create a website in Oriya, dedicated to the cause and to request eminent Linguist Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak to draft a language policy to help the implementation. Then it was resolved that members of the Committee may make any other suggestion they deem proper for implementation of the Act.

The Act was enacted in 1954, stipulating that “Oriya shall be the language to be used for all or any of the official purposes of the State of Orissa” with the mandate that “the Act shall come into force at once”. Since then, on different dates and from different departments as many as 25 circulars and notifications were issued for strict implementation of the Act.

But, the Act was never implemented and was continuously contravened.
Why? True, Biju Patnaik had sabotaged the Act in 1963. But, J.B.Patnaik had sincerely tried to implement it. Why then it was not implemented. Why?

As I cogitated on this question, I found, the Act was not equipped with any Rule to ensure its implementation. I found that there was no provision in the Act to allow framing of the necessary Rules. Therefore, I drafted an amendment to the Act with suggestion to add a new section, which would provide for creation of Rules and also made a draft Rules to suggest to the Committee.

In the 2nd meeting of the Committee, it was resolved that the draft language policy submitted by Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak and the draft amendment to the Act and the draft Rules I had submitted would be placed in the website odia.odisha.gov.in and the Principal Secretary of Law would be asked to vet the draft legislation I had submitted. In the last session of the Assembly, the Chief Minister has hinted to this legislation.

It is a matter of positive progress that the Law Secretary has vetted the draft I have submitted for legislation and the GA department is going to put it in form of a Bill for adoption in the coming session of the Assembly.

Ruling party MP Baishnav Parida, who has been trying to derail the proceedings of the government with the Oriya Bhasa Sangram Samiti, has also supported the legislation proposed by me and in the meantime, he has stated that a day in the coming session of the Assembly should be devoted to this legislation.

Besides Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak, Convener of our movement Poet Sankarshan Parida, Poet Gajanan Mishra, Prof. Natabar Satpathy, Dr.Subrat Kumar Prusty who have been leading the Sangram Samiti directly and Sambad editor Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, Subartta editor Pradyumna Satpathy, Columnist Tusarkanta Satpathy, Media consultant Pabitra Maharatha, poet Umakanta Raut et al who have been contributing their might indirectly are the real factors that have created a positive climate for the political leadership and the executive government to agree to accept and prepare my draft for the necessary legislation.

Once the Act is amended, the Rules I have also submitted will be taken up and once the Rules become law, no official or official functionary shall dare to deny governance of Orissa in Oriya as the contravention shall attract stringent punishment.

Days are no more distant when Orissa shall be governed in Oriya. Then I shall thanks, besides Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, his five colleagues in the cabinet – Debi Prasad Mishra (Chairman of the Ministerial Committee, Arun Kumar Sahu, Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, Bikram Keshari Arukh and Pranab Prakash Das for the positive steps taken in this regard.

Bhubaneswar Bureau

It is mandatory for all offices and establishments to use Oriya as the language in all or any activity relevant to the people of Orissa. Sad, the State Government has been contravening the Orissa Official Language Act, which has enforced this since 1954.

Oriya Bhasa Sangram Samiti has been fighting for implementation of the Act and the State Government has formed an Advisory Committee with the representatives of the Sangrarm Samiti to implement it.

Some significant steps have been taken in this regard. On request by the Committee, Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak has formulated a language policy. Sri Subhas Chandra Pattanayak has submitted drafts for necessary legislation to expedite the implementation of the Act. The State Government has created a website on implementation of the Act and the above two instruments have been posted in the site with the Act and subsequent notifications and circulars for public information. With necessary input from the Sangram Samiti, a workshop on Oriya University has been held and resolutions taken.

But despite such positive developments, officials are in the habit of denigrating Oriya language. An instance of this came to notice in the officially organized National Hand-looms Expo-2016 with its entrance gate displaying the nomenclature only in English.

Revolutionary columnist Tusarkanta Satpathy, ORISSA MATTERS chief Subhas Chandra Pattanayak, Subartta editor Pradyumna Satpathy and Language Activist Pabitra Maharatha served a notice on the Labour Commissioner against this official lapse holding it deliberate. The LC assured them to intervene.

The expo authorities were directed to replace the display boards written in English with display in Oriya. The direction has been executed.

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Under plutocratic intoxication mainstream authors of Orissa, who dazzle with awards and decorations, have thrown the splendid Oriya language into such distance from the people that the language has lost its relevance to almost all city dwellers and rural elites.

These fellows, supposed to act leaders of Oriya language, are so busy in ingratiating themselves with the power that be for awards and further awards that, they have never tried to educate the people about the harm a chief minister like Naveen Patnaik has done to Orissa’s self-respect and public interest by his anglicized administration.

It is a shame that this chief minister has not only violated the Orissa Official Language Act, 1954 every day on every occasion, in all his actions as the chief minister, but also has rendered inconsequential his predecessor J. B. Patnaik’s mandatory instruction to administration to create and submit official files only in Oriya.

He has been following his father Biju Patnaik’s anti-Oriya attitude and has totally ruined the utility value of Oriya language.

The award-seeking authors of Orissa, who claim to be authors in Oriya language, are so spineless and opportunistic that, they have never demanded that, the assault on utility potentiality of Oriya language by the chief minister and his government be stopped.

The demand for governance of Orissa in Oriya language has been raised by persons that have neither aspired for nor have ever bagged any award for their writings in Oriya.

This movement spearheaded by Oriya Bhasa Sangram Samiti had gained such spontaneous support from all over the State and the Fast-on-to-Death strike by poet Gajanan Mishra, joint convener of this Samiti strengthened with sympathy hunger strikes everyday in Bhubaneswar was so very strong that, the government of the anti-Oriya Naveen Patnaik was forced to agree for governance of Orissa in Oriya and to equip all the schools from primary to secondary with necessary manpower and environment to enhance the pivotal role of Oriya language in management of Orissa.

To remove the legal lacunae in fulfilling the spirit of the Official Language Act, 1954, as representative of the Oriya Bhasa Sangram Samiti in the Ministerial Committee constituted for implementation of its demands, I had submitted two drafts for legislation: (1) for amendment of the said Act to provide for creation of necessary Rules to drive the Act ahead; and (2) the Rules.

The Government has placed both of the drafts in the official website specifically created for the purpose and the department of Law has also cleared the same.

But now two dangers to Oriya language are lurking menacingly. They are:

(1) The General Administration Department under direct control of the CM is not placing the aforesaid drafts, despite law department approval, before the State Cabinet for adoption and onward placement before the Legislative Assembly for legislation;

And

(2) Instead of equipping Orissa with Oriya Medium Schools as promised to the Bhasa Sangram Samiti, the government is all set to destroy every zeal of Oriya people to draft their children for proper education in their mother tongue, by establishing highly funded and elite English Medium Schools in every Block of the State where a design to appoint maximum numbers of non-Oriya teachers is being executed through outside agencies.

Minister Mr. Debi Prasad Mishra’s answers to the Leader of Opposition Mr. Narasingha Mishra and to members such as Bibhuti Bhusan Harichandan, Padmanav Behera, Ashwini Patra, Nabakishore Das, Subala Sahu, Balabhadra Majhi and Pradip Purohit etc on Thursday made shenanigans in this regard seen through to the chagrin of the entire Oriya population.

So, it is now clear that whatever little scope was there for revival of the pivotal role of Oriya in management of the State is going to be totally quashed by the government of Orissa run by anti-Oriya chief minister and his pack of spineless sycophants and the scheming pack of non-Oriya mandarins.

We in Oriya Bhasa Sangram Samiti will certainly sit soon to draw up our future course of action.

But, what the real beneficiaries of Oriya language, that are being looked at with awe, because of the decorations they have bagged in the name of Oriya language, are going to do in this matter?

Will any of them, the award-proud fellows dazzling in the name of Oriya language, come forward to call for stoppage of the new and pernicious threat to Oriya paramountcy in Orissa?

Will they demand that the proposed model schools be entirely Oriya medium instead of being English medium?
Let them react.

Bhubaneswar Bureau

All of the Language activists had formed a common platform to strengthen their movement for governance of Orissa in Oriya as per Orissa Official Language Act 1954. The platform was named Oriya Bhasa Sangram Samiti (OBSS). Under its banner poet Gajanan Mishra offered a ‘Fast-onto-Death’ for implementation of the Act of 1954 in every sphere including judiciary, so that people could be saved from official exploitation and their mother tongue should get back paramount position in administration and its utility value would be restored.

When tremendous support from all over the State flowed in to the unprecedented movement, the Chief Minister formed a high power committee with 7 representatives of the OBSS and 5 of his cabinet colleagues to take all steps for implementation of the Act.

On deep study, it was found that the Act had no drive. Rules were necessary to punish whosoever functionary contravenes the Act, which had made it mandatory that Oriya language shall be the language for all and any official work in Orissa. So, necessary amendment to the Act of 1954 as well as the Rules were drafted and submitted to Government, which published the same in the official website created for the specific purpose of giving a monitoring platform to the people in the matter of implementation of the Act in right earnest. The CM also informed the Assembly that the amendment is being seriously pursued.

But, thereafter the CM started playing different game. His endeavor to drift away from adoption of the suggested amendment was driven by the design to foil the people’s demand for governance of Orissa in Oriya. Attempts were made to dilute the demand for implementation of the Official Language Act by throwing new traps like Oriya University. A highly shrewd step was taken to hold a workshop on this proposed University, as if unless the University is created, governance of Orissa in Oriya would not be possible. Perceiving that such an university would be a must, a bunch of retired Professors advanced arguments that if it should be created, it should be an Open University, comfortable for them to grab its faculty posts under the guise of preparation of course materials, question setting etc, which, in a regular University they cannot get. Various vested interests came to light in the workshop, where eminent persons on invitation emphasized that, for governance of the State in the mother tongue, the available manpower could only be generated by the University. Now, in current Budget, we find funds have been earmarked for a ‘Virtual Oriya University’ and different ‘Chairs’ in Oriya in different Universities, without a single pie provided for appointment of Oriya teachers in every school. So, these are nothing but attempts to hoodwink the people, whom governance in their mother tongue is being denied.

In the circumstances, the language activists, whom governance of Orissa in Oriya is more important than creation of the so-called virtual University or Chairs in Universities, are seriously contemplating to start the movement afresh, with all the force they can command.

Sri Subhas Chandra Pattanayak, author of the proposed amendment to the Act with the Rules, has made an appeal to his friends in social media, who are eager to see Orissa administered in Oriya, to advance their advice in the matter. His appeal, in Oriya, is reproduced here for the esteemed visitors and followers of this site with the same hope that they shall advance their suggestions through the mail id specifically addressed to the proposed movement – oriyabhasamovement@gmail.com.

Bhubaneswar Bureau

Orissa Official Language Act enacted and enforced in 1954 stipulated that, without prejudice to Art.346 and 347 of the Constitution of India, “Oriya shall be the language to be used for all or any of the official purposes of the State of Orissa”.

The cause of creation of this Act is inscribed in Orissa Gazette Extraordinary, dated the 3rd September, 1954. It reads:

“Whereas it is expedient for the adoption of Oriya as the language to be used for all or any of the official purposes of the State of Orissa;
It is hereby enacted by the Legislature of the State of Orissa in the Fifth year of the Republic of India as follows:-
1. (1) This Act may be called the Orissa Official Language Act, 1954.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Orissa.
(3) It shall come into force at once.”

But the officialdom of Orissa run by practitioners of non-Oriya language has been continuously contravening this Act and thereby denying the general people of Orissa their legitimate right to have the benefits for which they had revolted against British and their non-Oriya administration and had forced the British Government to call back their evil design against the Oriya people and recreate Orissa by uniting the Oriya speaking tracks.

BHASA ANDOLAN, a combine of unquestionable language activists, has demanded that the law be amended to punish whosoever contravenes the Official Language Act. When there is punishment against any contravener of any Act, there is no punishment prescribed for contraveners of the Orissa Official Act.

Journalist Subhas Chandra Pattanayak, who heads the Andolan, as a member in the State level Committee created by the Chief Minister to suggest how the Act could be implemented, had located this lacuna and had submitted a draft legislation for suitable amendment of the Act to provide for punishment against the contraveners of the Act.

In answering UDAQ No. 2325 in the Orissa Legislative Assembly, the Chief Minister had said on 14 Dec 2015 that, the necessary legislation for the purpose would soon be enacted.

But, the idea has been abandoned; as such legislation would make the CM vulnerable as he is a total contravener of the Act.

All endeavors of language activists having failed to make the Government refrained from contravention of the Official Language Act, the Bhasa Andolan organization submitted through its President Subhas Chandra Pattanayak and Convener Pabitra Maharatha to the Chief Secretary of Orissa an Ultimatum notifying therein that unless the Assembly is immediately moved for the promised legislation, from the Oriya New Year’s Day Pana Sankranti, their organization would resort to silent black-flag demonstration everyday in protest against official treachery. The protest march would commence from the Assembly gate at 5 PM and end at the sacred podium of Madhu babu, the founding father of Orissa State, everyday till punishment to whosoever contravenes the Orissa Official Language Act is provided for in the Act.

Accordingly, on the Pana Sankranti Day, leadership of the Andolan – Sri Subhas Chandra Pattanayak, Sri Pradyumna Satpathy, and Sri Tusarkanta Satpathy, along with eminent Linguist and lexicologist Prof. Dr. Natabar Satpathy hit the streets with black-flags and placards depicting the Andolana’s demand for legal provision for punishment to whosoever contravenes the Official Language Act and thereby hinders governance of Orissa in Oriya.

As the entire root is constantly under the cloud of Sec.144, the Andolan leadership has decided to keep the black-flag demonstrators limited to four persons only.

The team started from the front gate of the Assembly and concluded the day’s agitation at the podium of Kulagourav Madhu Sudan Das, as scheduled.

Three members of the Andolan leadership, Media consultant Pabitra Maharatha, prominent online journalist Sagar Satpathy and activist Madhumita Samal coordinated the march.

Below are some of the pictures of the unique event.

This agitation against anti-people conduct of the Government is the first of its kind in Bhubaneswar. This pattern was first experimented by Subhas Chandra Pattanayak at Athgarh in the 1980s.