(Photo - KUNA BAG)
Minister of State for Home Affairs Jitendra Singh in a statement in parliament on 15th May, 2012 said, “Creation of any new state has wide ramifications and direct bearing on the federal polity of our country. The Government of India moves in the matter only when there is a broad consensus in the parent state itself”.
This statement is ridiculous. For example will Naveen Pattnaik ever agree to carve out Kosalanchal
from Odisha ? Will his ministers and his coterie will move such a proposal in the state assembly ?
Jitendra Singh further said in his statement, “the Government of India has received a number of
demands and representations from time to time from various individuals and organizations for creation of new states. But the Government takes a decision on the matter of formation of new states after taking into consideration all relevant factors”.
This statement could also mean that the centre is still not too enthusiastic about new states
considering the situation in Andhra Pradesh where the demand for creating Telangana has virtually left India’s fourth largest state in tatters, both socially and politically.
On the backdrop of this a valid question may be raised as to whether there could be a second state
reorganization commission? If not at this stage will it be constituted only after hundreds and thousand crores of national property is ruined ? Today’s seminar should send a strong message to the center for constitution of a second state reorganization commission. This being the issue, the seminar should deliberate on whether there is a need for formation of a national level committee for creation of new states which will work as a pressure group and force the Government to act upon.
According to the Government, demand for separate state emanates from the perception that there is appreciable development deficit in comparison to mainstream areas of the state or appreciable short fall in development parameters. In such cases the centre will advise the state concerned to expedite development initiatives. This again is frivolous.
Development deficit or regional imbalance as we call it, is definitely ahead of other criteria for new
statehood but it is not the one and the only. There are several other criteria like cultural and linguistic differences that call for division for states. Over and above there is hegemony of one group over the other. For example in Odisha, Why do they not recognize the kosli language as the second official language of the state knowing fully well that more than one fourth of population speak and write in this language ? Why do they not teach the kosalites in their mother tongue ?
These are some of the points which immediately come to mind and perhaps to all of your minds as
well. There are many more points which may be raised in course of the seminar and deliberated upon.
I, therefore, look forward to an useful discussion on the issue and take this opportunity to implore your conscience and erudition in full form so that we wind up the day with a consensus and send the summary of the seminar to the appropriate agencies. I’m glad to say that, we’ve papers on subjects like regional imbalance in Odisha with special reference to Telangana, status of Health & Education in Western Odisha and the misery of tribal population in Kosalanchal. I once again hope the delegates will enjoy the day and fully participate in this historic seminar being organized by a fledgling political outfit i.e. Kosal Kranti Dal.
Baidyanath Mishra
Working President, KKD
Kosli Matrubhasa Divas: Concept Note
Language is never the prerogative or monopoly of limited group or community. The uniqueness of a language lies in its universal appeal. That is why it is said that in the galaxy of linguism every word is a glittering star. Kosli language might be a little star in the universal firmament but it does twinkle and occupy a space of its own in the linguistic world. Drawn from this logic one cannot but say that kosli is a full fledged language and not a sub language of Odiya as claimed more often than not. Kapila Samhita says “ Punya Swarnapuri prokta punya marjara kesari, kosalesu punya traya punya chitrotpala nadi ”. History says and linguists agree to the fact that Awadhi, Baghelkhandi and
Chhatisgarhi are the derivatives of kosli Language. As india remains India even after the partition of Pakistan and Bangladesh, Kosli remains the principal language of Kosal region even after these languages have established themselves as separate languages. Therefore linking Kosli with Odiya is a misnomer. Kosli is spoken by more than one crore population and that it has survived the test of time and hegemony of a larger community over a minor , is itself a testimony to cherish.
This language is craving for recognition from a pretty long period but as history repeats, the Odiyas look down upon and reject the status of the language like the Bengalis who once said “ Odiya Ek Ta Bhasa Na e” . Lalu Yadav said Jharkhand will be built over his dead body. Today Jharkhand is a reality and Lalu Yadav is still alive. Tall claims of notorious people have never got cognizance of the civil society and it will not be a surprise if such elements are alive in Odisha too.
Nothing is permanent because ‘change’ is the truth and that is constant. There will be a change. kosli as a language will be accepted one day even by its worst adversaries. Today on this day, when we celebrate the Kosli Matrubhasa Divas in the capital of our neighbouring state, we only appeal to the conscience of those who wrote the political history of Odisha, to rethink as to whether their brethren in Kosalanchal are justified in their demand for recognition of the language in the 8th schedule of the constitution and to grant the second official language status of the state as well.
Baidyanath Mishra, 94370 83025
A rare picture of the RANGABATI team ...This is the team who made the BAAP of all Indian Folk Song "Rangabati" Nearly two decades ago, Jitendria Haripal sang 'Rangabati', a number that was on everyone's lips. The cassette outsold the competition. Now, Haripal, a dalit and one of the foremost exponents of Sambalpuri geet, lives in penury in a slum, says noted journalist P. SAINATH.
Rangabati, O Rangabati (Colourful Lady) You are like a golden creeper...IT was a hit song like almost no other. Though from Orissa, "Rangabati" captured huge areas beyond that State. The Golden Creeper spread through Chattisgarh, then entwined much of the Hindi belt. There was a time in the 1980s when no self-respecting truck driver hit the road without the cassette. Tea shops reminded clients of their existence with the song blaring. No one knows how many vinyl records were sold, but it made gold disc status within its first three or four years of play. As for the cassette version, its sales were in countless lakhs. It generated a fortune in revenues for both music companies and pirates.
The voice that powered that track has lost none of its charm and magnetism, but sounds dejected and weary today. For its owner lives on the breadline in a Sambalpur slum. Jitendria Haripal, a top exponent of Sambalpuri geet, made next to nothing out of the song's financial success. Haripal has shared the stage with other leading artists of this State. That includes former Chief Minister Giridhar Gamang, himself a fine musician. Haripal is a dalit from the Dom community. One who dropped out of school. And was never let into the music sabhas as a youth. The voice that launched "Rangabati" is entirely self-trained.
"Like people whose names you forget, but whose faces you remember, I know the raagas but not their titles.
"It is only when people tell me that the song you have sung is in this or that raag that I get to know the names."
When and how did Haripal decide to go professional?
"But I never did. Even today, I never think of myself as a professional. I am an artist, not a performer. This is a pride not a profession. It is art, not employment. It is a Dom tradition, too. What the people on radio and television call Sambalpuri geet is gaana. The music of the Gaana people. Of the Dom people.
"My father Mandath Haripal did not perform in public the way I did. He tried to make a living picking tendu leaves. But he was a talented musician. I used to go into the fields with him and sing. We were bhumihin (landless). No property, no assets. But we could sing. We had music.
"No. I was never formally trained. Nor did I ever do a course in fine arts. We are dalits, you see. How could we enter a music sabha? That too, in those days? And I could never afford a teacher. So I used to stand outside these sabhas or wherever classes or performances were held, and listen. I can recall times I stood in the rain listening to music shows where I would not be welcome inside. By these means, and simply by singing, I taught myself."
Haripal began as an artiste in All India Radio in 1971. "Those days the recording fee was Rs. 15. Some years later it became Rs. 75." It is Rs. 900 today in his grade which is "Senior B High" artist. But he feels he gets fewer recordings than are due to him each year. He has done road laying work, construction labour and other odd jobs at different times. "Music is not a safe source of earning."
"'Rangabati?' Ah, yes. I knew you would ask me about it. See you have come this distance to talk to me about that song. How many others have heard it in how many places? It is a love story, a duet. A simple love song in pure Sambalpuri style."
"It was an AIR recording around 1975-76. The writer of the song was Mitrabhanu Gaunthiya. As you know, that song exploded on the scene. All know how popular it was, and still is. Soon a music company - INDRECO - got interested. They wanted to cut a record. So around 1976, I went to Calcutta. And the recording took place." But the disc was not released.
The first of a series of tragic events had begun. A dispute over authorship of the tune. Haripal says, "How can anyone doubt it was my tune?" Someone did though and the row dragged on. Interestingly, no one ever denied that the song's phenomenal success was due to Haripal's rendition. Also the lively voice of his female co-singer Krishna Patel. The record was stuck. What happened next is not quite clear, but Haripal says he won in the courts. "The disc was released around 1978-79."
It was a smash hit. "'Rangabati' is an all-time great," says Syantan K. Rath. An Assistant Station Director of AIR at Sambalpur, Rath says, "Cassette sales in lakhs? We should be counting that one in millions. He certainly did a brilliant job with that song." The music company thought so too. It got Haripal to sign a contract. This, he says, was for three years, with the option of a two-year extension. And then the company went into a lockout.
"I was stuck. Even though there was a lockout, I was under contract. I could not perform for anyone else." Two years later, the company in that avatar, he says, closed down. Just when he was to have got a gold disc to honour his record sales. "All I had got was around Rs. 10,000."
Rangabati, Rangabati... You are like a full moon in a damaged house...
"I don't know when the cassette came out. All I know is I was told the company had closed down and all my royalties stopped." Meanwhile, companies changed hands. Owners came and went.
Since Haripal was not aware that a newly released edition of his cassette existed, we went to the bazaar. There we found one of the many versions of the cassette that have made the rounds for two decades. The cover does say INDRECO. And "Manufactured and Marketed by the Gramophone Company of India." Packed in July 1999. All of which could still mean nothing. Many pirated versions use the names of big companies. Unless, of course, a revived company was putting out the cassette again.
"Who knows? I certainly do not. Maybe somebody there does not know the history. And what can I do anyway?"
However, the recording quality is quite good. And there is one strange feature to the tape. The voices on it are unmistakable. So is the music, advertised as "Sambalpuree Folk Songs". But nowhere do the names of Jitendria Haripal and Krishna Patel appear on it. That hurts the musician more than anything else. "I cannot get into these fights, you know, I would just be grateful if whoever did this made a just settlement with me. We too, are entitled to a fair deal, no?"
The discovery leaves him dejected but not bitter. "All I want is a fair amount. That which is due to us should come to us.
"We are not cut out to do business, I think. I tried the Cuttack companies, but they finished us. Western Orissa artistes can never get a good deal in coastal Orissa. I once tried financing my other music on my own cassette. The company I went to in Cuttack used sub-standard tape. So that venture collapsed. I lost all my money."
As "Rangabati" rankles, he shifts ground. "I consider myself a student to this day, when I am 50. Maybe because I never got to learn formally. The intolerance we faced as Doms was humiliating. We shrank from the contempt of others. This was, and is, our culture. What you call Sambalpuri culture. But being dalits, that is how we were treated."
The school drop out is a music scholar. "Sambalpuri geet is as old as society. One thing, always remember. Everywhere in the world, folk songs are older than classical tradition. Not just older, but much, much older. I believe all folk music in the world is related. There is some common content, some kinship. In India, those links are deep.
"Sambalpuri has three kinds of geet (song). Of these, prem (love) and mausam (season) geet are deeply related. Mausam geet is 'seasonal' in a wide sense. It includes natural seasons, weddings, harvest, sowing, and the like. After all, when we go to the fields and out into nature, we sing of our lovers. Prem and mausam geet are far more prolific in Sambalpuri than the third type, bhajan.
"I am not just a Sambalpuri singer. My hobby is to listen to folk music from everywhere. Listen..." And he demonstrates the tradition he is talking about. The slum comes alive with Haripal's vibrant voice. With snatches from the songs of the Bauls of Bengal. Of Chattisgarhi love songs. Effortlessly, he makes us see what he is talking about. The common elements of Sambalpuri, Bhojpuri and Oriya. Then of Baul, Chattisgarhi and Dhakia Bengali music. He explores the links of some elements of these to Nepali folk as well. It is impossible to see "Rangabati" as an accident now. This is a versatile musician with a deep understanding of his art.
But it was that song which made him famous. His greatest memory is of the day a crowd that recognised him at Batapur railway station. It refused to let the train move. Not unless Haripal sang "Rangabati". "Finally, the train driver told me that I had better sing a few lines if we wanted the train to move!"
But that day is past. Haripal's family troupe still tours but makes little money. And disaster still strikes. "The rains here two years ago destroyed us," says Chandrika, Haripal's daughter. "We lost all our instruments. Ever since, we have had to hire instruments or borrow them." The troupe gets engagements, but does not make much. "There are all the accompanying artistes to be paid," she says. By the time that is done, Haripal might not be left with Rs. 3,000 from a performance.
Haripal also feels he has been sidelined by the culture establishment. "I was to represent the country at the Festival of India in Moscow. At the last minute I was dropped. This has happened to me many times. Even at the Independence Day Golden Jubilee celebrations in Delhi. They take my song, they do not take me."
Some, though, are sympathetic. "He's a very good artiste, with mass appeal," says AIR's Syantanu Rath. He plays down - as does Haripal himself - the singer's alcohol problems. Those were brought on after the series of reverses and losses he faced. "Haripal is moody and temperamental. Hardly a new thing in a recording artiste."
Rangabati, Rangabati... My heart is full with jasmine fragrance...Of my heart is throbbing for you...
Later, all the way down the road to Malkangiri, we found the tea shops still had the song. "Rangabati" is not forgotten. Haripal is, though.
"Do you think if we find out who is in charge, they might show some respect?" he asks about the tape. Life has seldom shown him much of that commodity. So he is not sure. "I do not want to fight anybody. There should be some justice. This is my art. This is my life and love..."
Rangabati, Rangabati... dear, please don't harass me...
Courtesy:-Dailypioneer written by :- Sudarshan Chhotray
Caught between the dual targets of massive industrialisation and agricultural expansion through extending irrigation coverage to the farmlands, the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD Government has become the real target of people.
Despite its tall claim of covering 35 per cent of cultivable land under assured irrigation facilities, the ground realities are something different. Policy analysts have found only 25 per cent of the land in the State to be under irrigation. With 11 major rivers, 12 river basins, seven big dams, 10 agro-climatic zones, four geo- climatic regions, 480-km long coastline and average rainfall of 1, 500mm, the State is still a less developed agricultural region. Climate change has affected monsoon and uncertainty of rainfall has made lives of the farmers miserable.
Many attributed drought, food insecurity, starvation deaths, migration, and suicide of farmers and above all marginalisation to inadequate irrigation facility. The diversion of water for industrial houses meant for irrigation has raised many eyebrows. Similarly, the Government’s failure in flood management also has been criticized by political parties and experts. An affidavit filed by the Water Resources Department in the Odisha High Court on August 30 last has confirmed 18 industrial houses are lifting water from four such dams, including Hirakud. This and other related allegations have indeed fuelled many controversies over distribution of water. That’s the reason people feel all the projects have been designed and directed towards facilitating industrial needs than the needs of the common people.
Just a month back, drought had engulfed almost fifty per cent of the State and the news of farmers’ suicide was much in the news headlines. People of Western Odisha were up in arms against a hydro-power project proposed near Sindhol village in Subarnapur district. Though this plant was planned ostensibly to augment the energy needs of the State, in reality people in Western Odisha put up a brave front against the project, which forced it to put off the project for the time being. For them it was a conspiracy to facilitate another Hirakud like big dam for which they are suffering since 1950.
Aung Irrigation project: People of Paikmal area under Padampur Sub Division in Bargarh district are up against a dam project which has posed a grave threat to their life and livelihood. They are claiming their ancestral home, cultivable land and locally available natural resources would be lost if the project is undertaken. Not only these, it would also harm their existing social relationship, age- old tradition and practice.
The proposed dam at Pujharipalli at a distance of 15 km from Padampur, would irrigate about 30,000 hectares of cultivable land of both Bargarh and Balangir districts, which are known as drought prone areas. The project, which was started at the initial cost estimate of Rs 304.66 crore as per the 1999 Consumer Price Index, has now been escalated to Rs 500 crore. The project was sanctioned by Central Water Commission on September 20, 2000 and the environmental clearance was issued on December 6, 2007. The project has the components of a 7480 meter length earthen dam near Pujarharipalli with irrigation potential of 50 km in downstream. Total and full storage in the dam will affect 5100 hectares of area including 167 hectares of Chhattisgarh State.
“As our area is rich in natural resources and people are rich in agriculture despite erratic monsoon and scanty rainfall with less irrigation facility, we have gained self sufficiency in agriculture and a common farmer is getting more yield than expected. Similar is the situation for landless farmers those who never feel they are landless. Rather, they adopt shared cultivation system which brings more benefit for them and they have nothing to worry of forced migration,” says Amrit Lal Sahoo, a retired Revenue Inspector of Saeikela village.
For Jaganath Pradhan of Samalpuri village it is a do-or-die struggle, as he is losing at least Rs 4 lakh per annum from his 15 acre of cultivable land . Even Government agencies collect seeds from him. Jagannath manages to run his 14-member family lavishly without any other income source. For him loosing land for a proposed project will cost him dearly. He is all set for self immolation if the project is undertaken forcibly. The Government has planned the project without proper verification of local resources, alleged members of Pujharipalli Dam Pratirodh Committee, the organisation which has been spearheading the movement against the proposed project. Due to stiff resistance from affected villagers, the first public hearing was turned a battle field.
As things stand today, where the people of Paikamal area have been continuing their protest demonstrations against the construction of the proposed Aung Dam, local politicians are leaving no stone unturned to pacify people’s growing dissent. The affected village believes the decision for construction of a dam at Pujharipalli was political one as former Odisha Chief Minister Biju Painaik had already laid foundation stone for Aung Irrigation Project at Chirroli, said Pujharipalli Dam Partirodh committee secretary Netrananda Behera.
Interestingly, foundation stone laying for Pujharipalli Dam site was conducted during the Congress regime by former Chief Minister J B Patnaik during the 90s. Since then, people of the region have been protesting against the construction of the dam starting from the massive rally at Padampur in the year 1989. Then came the boycott of panchayat elections en-masse in the year 2002 in all the four gram panchayats namely Alkmaar, Sareipalli, Lokharkota and Jagadalpur. Not a single vote was cast in all the 32 affected villages spread over the four panchayats, says Bhandari Marei of Chardhapalli village. Of late, the committee has formed village level struggle committees in all the 32 affected villages to give a brave front in resisting Government’s possible attempt to construct the dam. According to the agitating villages of Lakhmara revealed the dam will not only cause harm to four high schools including a tribal residential high school, a junior college and a number of primary schools, it would also cause harm to a number of area and endangered animals, birds, some medicinal plants, profitable tress, fruit and crop varieties.
Significantly, the calculation made by forty years’ old Bharat Bag of Sareikela Village tells a different story. According to him he gets 30 bags of paddy from an acre of agriculture land which will cost around Rs 11, 250.00. Besides these, he earns from oilseeds and cereals. Bharat says it would be painful for any farmer in sacrificing such prosperous areas for the sake of a so called development project which will bring only devastation. The most shocking effect of the proposed dam is the continuing existence of the prolonged traumatic situations undergone by the people of the region who during the last couple of decades couldn’t make any large investments in housing and other social and economical engagements, argues Bhakta Bariahha of Chardhapalli village.
Suktel Irrigation Project: Chabbilal Gadatia is dejected as he found that he had nothing to do, but hand over his two acres of agriculture land to Government for the construction of the proposed Lower Suktel Dam. Chabbilal, with his five-member family has been earning his livelihood depending upon his two acres of fertile land. Chabbilal along with his fellow villagers of Kainthapalli under Loisingha block of Balangir district are up in arms against the Government which is all set to oust them from their land for the proposed dam.
Kainthapalli is among 29 villages which would be affected by the proposed dam. According to the 1996 survey, at least 15,380 people of 4160 families spread over 26 villages of Balangir district will be displaced. Out of them, 1222 families are tribal, 575 are Scheduled Caste and remaining 2363 belong to OBC. The dam has been initiated to irrigate more than 31,830 hectares of agriculture land spread over 189 villages of poverty stricken and drought prone Balangir and Subarnapur districts. Under the Central Government’s Long Team Action Plan for the drought-prone KBK region, the dam has been approved by the Planning Commission in 1999, with an estimated cost of Rs 217.13 crore in 1996, which is now escalated to the tune of Rs 1,041.81 crore. But due to strong resistance and boycott of the displaced persons, land survey and acquisition process at the proposed dam site of Magurabeda, situated 22 km away from Balangir town had been halted. Latest Government report says land acquisition in 23 villages has been almost completed and process is yet to start in remaining six villages. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik while reviewing the progress on August 30 last this year has instructed the authorities to speed up the construction work as soon as possible. After completion, the project will irrigate 29,850 hectares of agriculture land in Balangir and 1,980 hectares in Subarnapur district. Two canals will be constructed in right and left side of the reservoir. “Since the last seven years we have been living under uncertain future and passing through psychological trauma, following the declaration of the dam,” the locals lamented.
Dr. Manmohan Singh, Honourable Prime Minister of India
cc
Smt. Partibha Patil, Honourable President of India
Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Honourable UPA Chairperson
Smt. Sushma Swaraj, Honourable Leader of Opposition
Mr. P. Chidambaram, Honourable Union Minister of Home Affairs
Mr. Kapil Sibal, Honourable Union Minister of Human Resource Development
Shri Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare, Honourable Governor of Odisha
Mr. Naveen Patnaik, Honourable Chief Minister of Odisha
Honorable Members of Parliament from Odisha
Esteemed Honourable Prime Minister, Dr. Singh,
In the past few years the central govt. has included different Indian languages in the 8th schedule of the Indian constitution by the recommendation of various committees. It shows prudence on the part of Indian government in being flexible in recognizing the complexity of linguistic diversity in India. In 2003, the 93rd Constitutional Amendment was passed which enabled the government to have a fresh look at the possibility of inclusion of other Indian languages in the 8th schedule. Consequently, four languages, viz. Bodo, Dogri, Santhali and Maithili were judged to be included in the 8th schedule. We the people of Western Odisha were hoping that Kosli be included as well because our situation is identical to that of Maithili as it is explained in the following sections of this memo. Therefore, we humbly request you to examine our request by the same yardstick used to include the four recent languages in the 8th schedule of the Indian Constitution.
It is said that the right of a mother tongue is a basic cultural right of the people which link them with their economy, socio-cultural system and political right. UNESCO has recognized that the concept of language equality among all languages is important irrespective of whether the languages have a script or not. Furthermore, the Indian government is promoting the mother tongue based multilingual education to reduce the school drop-out rates and to enhance communication using a mother tongue.1 This is a good and praiseworthy initiative taken by the Indian government. In this regard, the Kosli language (also called Kosli-Sambalpuri, Sambalpuri) is the mother tongue of ten districts of western Orissa (Kosal region) viz. Balangir, Bargarh, Boudh, Deogarh, Jharsuguda, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Sambalpur, Sonepur, Sundargarh, and Athmallik subdivision.2 In addition, a large population of Raipur, Mahasamund and Raigarh districts of Chhattisgarh state also uses Kosli language as their mother tongue.2
The Kosli language and literature is vast as it is blessed with a group of dedicated writers. A large number of books are published regularly and available in the Kosli language. Epics like “Ramayana”, “Mahabharat” and “Meghduta” are translated into Kosli language.2 Kosli language has a rich literature in different areas viz. Architecture, Astrology, Mantra-Tantra-Yantra science, Medicine, Yoga, Music, Arts, Dance, Drama, Yoga, Philosophy, and Grammar.
Kosli dramas, songs, and dances are popular across the world. Kosli dramas are highly acclaimed and regularly staged at various places of India. For instance, a recent Kosli language play “Maau” is aiming to enter the Limca record book by becoming the biggest ever stage show of its kind in the world.2 In addition, the Kosli language cinema is attracting world wide attention. “Bukha (Hunger)” a Kosli language movie has won the Indian national award, an international jury award at the Gijón International Film Festival, Spain and was selected for World Rural Film Festival, Aurrilac, France.2 The All India Radio (viz. Sambalpur, Balangir, and Bhawanipatna) and television channels (viz. Nxatra news and OTV) are broadcasting their news and entertainment programs in Kosli language.
More than five registered newspapers and seventy magazines are available in Kosli language.2 Unfortunately Kosli language has no political and official support although there was a discussion in the Indian parliament to include Kosli language in the 8th Schedule of the Indian constitution.3 Recently the Orissa govt. has recommended the Ho language for its inclusion in the 8th schedule of the Indian constitution.4 This is a welcome step. Along this line, we sincerely hope that the Orissa govt. will recommend Kosli language for the inclusion in the 8th Schedule of the Indian constitution.
For the people of western Orissa it is not just a language but a way of life that propel progresses and harmony in the region. The inclusion of Kosli language in the 8th schedule of the Indian constitution will have following positive impacts on the people of western Orissa:
Western Orissa area contains 40 to 50 % of the state’s population. The key to development of western Odisha is the Kosli language. Drop out rate in schools particularly in rural and Adivashi area can be ascribed to, among other variables, teaching in Odia language which is not used in day to day communication. It is as if learning through an alien language. Kosli is the dominant means of communication through out western Odisha. Though we have several tribal languages, all tribals have functional capability in Kosli not Odia. That is the main reason why KBK has been found literacy rate is so low. We also have large population of scheduled caste in the area who are similarly impacted. It has caused various problems viz. i) the overall marks of students from western Orissa are lower than the students of coastal Orissa and ii) many bright students of western Orissa fail again and again in both 10th and 10+2 examinations because of their poor knowledge in Odia language. Recognition of Kosli language will facilitate education among the kids of western Orissa in their mother tongue and solve the above mentioned problems.
In spite of aggressive Odianisation, population of western Orissa has retained Kosli language for day to day communication. In large population centers where people of other states, especially from Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bengal, Punjab, Gujarat and other North Indian area have come to work, they have opted Kosli instead of Odia because the accent of Kosli follows North Indian pattern. And when poor Koslis go out of their area to seek employment they choose to go to other Hindi speaking area such as Chhattisgarh, U.P, Bihar and Jharkhand instead of Odia speaking area in Odisha. All Kosli can be easily identified by their accent when they try to speak Odia. Elected representatives from western Orissa can not engage in debates in the State Assembly because of their poor knowledge in Odia language. Recognition of this language will facilitate communication in thelegislative and social sphere.
Dictionaries, grammar books, plays, novels, anthology of poems, granthavalis of major poets, Kosli panjikas, several books on history of Kosal (western Orissa), and biographies on Kosli heroes are already available without any financial help from the government. Recognition of Kosli language will avail grants directly from the central government. This will facilitate the research and future development of Kosli language.
Currently, notices are given in the villages of western Odisha in Odia; not very literates do not understand the full implications of these notices. Civil servants from other areas who do not even have rudimentary knowledge of Kosli language can not communicate with citizens, thus resulting in miscommunication. In fact, Orissa is among the minority of states which claims to have only one language. 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. In this context, inclusion of the Kosli language in the 8th Schedule of the Indian constitution will facilitate governance in western Orissa.
The linguistic characteristics of Kosli language are markedly different. Kosli language is a direct derivative of Sanskrit.5 Odia scholars have accepted it as a dialect of Odia language and Odia language as a member of Eastern Magadhi group of Indo-Aryan family. But genealogical analysis shows two different sources of origin of the two languages, that is, Odia and Kosli language. Odia is originated from the Magadhi Prakrit; whereas, Kosli language is originated from Ardha-Magadhi Prakrit.4 So there is remarkable difference between the two in the sphere of phonology, morphology, semantics and syntax.5 The researchers at the Sambalpur University, Odisha have shown that the Kosli is a distinct and old language.6
Kosli language is intimately connected to the distinct culture and heritage of western Odisha, quite distinct from Odia culture. The unique folk songs and dances blends neatly with rhythm and punctuation of Kosli language. Inclusion of Kosli language in the 8th schedule of the Indian Constitution will promote the culture and heritage of western Orissa.
Keeping the above mentioned points into consideration we request you to recommend the inclusion of Kosli language in the 8th schedule of the Indian Constitution.
Thanking you with best regards,
People of western Odisha and members of the Kosal Discussion and Development Forum (KDDF)
Acknowledgment: We thank the members of KDDF and other e-forums for suggestions. We are grateful to the people of western Odisha for constant support and encouragement.
References:
1.http://kddfonline.com/2011/07/31/mother-tongue-based-multilingual-education-kosli-language-as-a-medium-of-instruction-in-the-schools-of-western-odisha/2. http://kddfonline.com/category/kosli-language-and-literature/3. http://kddfonline.com/2009/10/23/parliament-debates-on-koshali-language/4. http://www.orissasambad.com/news_article.php?id=609615. Kosli Bhasa Ra Sankhipta Parichay, Kosal Ratna Prayagdutta Joshi, pp 6, 7, 16, 17, Ed. Dr. Dolagobinda Bishi, 1991.6. Peculiarities of Sambalpuri Language in Its Morphology; Dr. Ashok Kumar Dash, Surta, pp 35-38, Ed. Saket Sreebhushan Sahu, 2009.Click here to download the Kosli language memorandum.
Submitted & Approved by
Members of Kosal Discussion and Development Forum (KDDF) & well wishers
Drafted by
Dr. Sanjib K Karmee
Department of Biotechnology
Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
E-mail:S.K.Karmee@tudelft.nl
Dr. Arjun Purohit
Canada
E-mail: apurohit1934@gmail.com
Mr. Saket Sahu
Editor, BENI, Bargarh, Odisha
E-mail: saket.sahu@gmail.com