Provide equal status to Kosali and Odia says, noted Kosali language activist Saket Sreebhushan Sahu in a meeting held at Bhangmunda village of Gaisilat block under Bargarh district on 21st June.
The meeting was attended by Padmashree Haldhar Nag as Chief Guest and Saket Sreebhushan Sahu as Chief Speaker. Sri Nag stated that, Kosali literature has bloom in recent years. The Padma awardee added, a time was there, people used to level it as the language of Rasarkeli and Dalkhai but the Padma award from the Union of India to me itself is a certificate that Kosali is a rich language.
Sri Sahu discussed that; The Orissa Offcial Language Act 1954 will be implemented from next August 15th. Odia language will be mandatory in all communication, from school to court. It may have negative impact on Western Odisha. But our plea is, Odia may be make compulsory in Odia speaking area and Kosali should be the official language of communication in Kosali speaking region. Odia should not be imposed on Kosali speaking area. I fear, the implementation of this Act will widen the gap between coastal and western more than before. The people of western Odisha will be deprived of their rights to mother tongue.
Further, Naveen babu had made promise in election manifesto to include Kosali in 8th Schedule in last general election. Recently they celebrated 2 years completion of their ministry. Two years have been passed but no follow up for the promise. We are feeling like we have been betrayed. It was a political conspiracy to grab emotion of the people in the election time.
Again, out of 28 states, 15 have more than one official language. Out of 7 union territories, 6 have more than one recognized language. In a democracy, freedom of expression is a fundamental right of the citizen. Good governance requires efficient communication between the citizens and the government.
But Odisha is an exception from all. Here we are noticing people are deprived from their fundamental rights. Politicians make promise and forget.