PROUD TO SAY WE ARE ODIA

PEOPLE OF ORISSA IN A CELEBRATION MOOD 5/11/2011

People of Orissa now Odisha are elated to be known as Oriya to Odia. All are in a joyful mood. Orissa’s name was officially changed to Odisha and Oriya to Odia language then presidential approval Friday 4th November to a bill passed by Parliament and the issuance of a notification. In the first official letter on the letterhead of Odisha, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik thanked President Pratibha Patil for his “historic decision”.
“I convey to you the deep gratitude of our people by the state that is now known as Odisha,” Patnaik wrote.

The secretariat of the Chief Minister, ministers and officials saw a brilliant display of fireworks. The Chief Minister declared a holiday today i.e. 5th November, Saturday. All government offices, schools and universities closed.
Sweets were distributed to those attending the celebration, organized in the short term following the instructions of Patnaik. At the beginning of a unanimous resolution was passed in the state assembly to change the name of the state of Orissa to Odisha in 2008, which received the approval of both Houses of Parliament in 2010.
Presidential assent and notification issued today.

The state was formed on linguistic basis on April 1, 1936, was known as Orissa and Oriya language was since.

Actually, in September the Lok shaba had given the concern over the two bills and were awaiting the final endorsement from the President. The Rajya Shaba in March had passed the two bills and for some technical reasons, it had been handed over to the Lok Shaba for some rectifications.

It is sorry to say that this is a political humbug to divert people’s attention. The other way, honestly the people of Odisha are suffering from corruption and rampant deforestation and Industrialization. Now, one can imagine how the people of western part of Odisha are suffocated because of rampant Industrialization and the pollution these industries make out of it. The real issue has never been highlighted. No doubt the western part is full of mineral a resource, that doesn’t mean that the government goes on deforesting the entire region and carries according to their own whims and fancy.

An ass in a lion skin doesn’t make a lion. Becoming an Odia from Oriya doesn’t change the attitude and mindset. How unfortunate the denizen of Odisha that our Hon’ble Chief Minister Mr. Naveen Pattnaik doesn’t know how to speak in Odia and still carries the British Legacy with his so called Dhoti and Kurta and speaking in tongue twisting British Accent i.e. English only? What an Irony?

SIDDHARTHA SHANKAR MISHRA,
BUREAU CHIEF,
THESE DAYS, TASVER E HIND,
ORISSA, SAMBALPUR