Odisha Turns 83 – Future of State is Bright under Dynamic Leadership of Naveen Patnaik

Naveen Patnaik’s entry into politics in the late 20th century and successfully ruling the state for more than decade and half, has changed the face of modern Odisha. 

The Naveen Patnaik government has made sincere efforts to preserve and promote Odia language.  The one of major achievements include getting the ‘classical status’ for Odia in 2014.  The government has also enacted rules of the Odisha Official Language Act, 1954, formally bringing it into force for official work in Odia language. It also made Odia language mandatory on signboards of all shops and commercial establishments in the state.

As Odisha celebrates the Utkala Divas today to mark the 83rd Foundation Day of the state, it’s time to recall the contribution made by the great freedom fighters and social workers in formation of Odisha as a separate province during the toughest period of its political history. It is also perfect time to introspect how Odisha, then Utkala, known for its cultural legacy and glorious history, had come a long way since 1936 to become a model state in various aspects in India. 

The quest for a separate province for Odisha was strongly felt in the last phase of the 19th century to protect the Odia-speaking people from a serious identity crisis. Odisha had lost its political homogeneity and cultural identity in the neighbouring provinces of Bengal, Madras and Central Provinces.  The Odia-speaking people were widely scattered in these provinces. They lacked both political and cultural unification. Their identity was under threat.

Painting of Gajapati Maharaja Krushna Chandra Dev

The political unification of Odisha was necessitated in the aftermath of the 1866 famine, one of the deadliest natural disasters in human history. The famine caused death to millions of Odia-speaking people. The British government had overlooked the plight of people. The disaster could have been averted, if there was a strong political unification of people. 

The greater leaders like Madhusudan Das, Nilakantha Das, Bhubanananda Das, Krishna Chandra Gajapati Dev and others felt that language was the only basis for the political and cultural unification of Odisha and started the movement for it. Madhusudan Das was the instrumental behind the language movement in Odisha. He founded Utkal Sammilani, which played a pioneering role to create a special identity for Odia language, which it genuinely deserved, and unify Odia-speaking people. After the decades of incessant trials and agitations of the great leaders, the dream of a separate state of Odisha was finally realized on April 1, 1936.

Utkal Gourab Madhusudan Das

After the formation of the state and post-independence India, the focus was shifted towards strong political leadership, who could alleviate poverty and bring socio-economic growth. Odisha had witnessed many ups-downs in its long political journey since 1936. The state has been led by 14 chief ministers since 1946. 

Naveen Patnaik’s entry into politics in the late 20th century and successfully ruling the state for more than decade and half, has changed the face of modern Odisha. 

The Naveen Patnaik government has made sincere efforts to preserve and promote Odia language.  The first major achievement is the getting the ‘classical status’ for Odia in 2014. Odia is the sixth classical language in India. Other languages are Tamil, Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam. Odia is the first language from the Indo-Aryan group of languages to get the classical tag.  This achievement will go a long way in taking the Odia literature to new heights. 

The classical status entails  a one-time grant of Rs 100 crore for research and development of the language, Rs 5 crore recurring grant for chairs to be established in central universities, and two international chairs will be provided by the Centre.

In August 2016, the state government enacted the rules of the Odisha Official Language Act, 1954, formally bringing it into force for official work in Odia language. According to the act, Odia has to be used for all gazette notifications, bills, amendment, acts, ordinances, orders, rules and regulations issued by the state government. 

The Odisha government has made Odia language mandatory on signboards of all shops and commercial establishments. To bring this into effect, the government will amend the Odisha Shops and Commercial Establishment Act, 1956. 

The government is also planning to set up a Odia language university. In September last year, it had passed a bill for introducing the university.  

Naveen joined politics in 1996, after the death of his father Biju Patnaik, former chief minister and leader of the Janata Dal.  Odisha was going through a bad phase of its political history between 1995 and 2000.  The economic condition of Odisha was in a precarious state due to political instability and natural disaster. People were desperately looking for a leader who could change the fate of Odisha.  At this critical juncture, Naveen became the chief minister in 2000. He has been ruling the state since then. 

The nearly 17 years of Naveen rule has brought Odisha out of the category of backward states. Odisha has achieved higher economic growth improving the lives of the vulnerable and disadvantaged communities. The state has made substantial investment in physical infrastructure to attract manufacturing and service industries especially in MSME sector. The real per capita income has increased from Rs.14,862 in 1999-2000 to Rs.61,678 in 2016-17 at 2011-12 prices. Poverty in Odisha has declined by 24.6 percentage points from 57.2 per cent in 2004-05 to 32.6 per cent in 2011.  

The food grain production has increased from 5.54 Million tons in 2000 to 11.83 Million tons in 2017. Odisha is now a surplus state in rice production and the 3rd largest contributor to the rice pool in the country. 

The pace of development has been accelerated ever since BJD came to power in Odisha.  A total of 20 mega projects have been set up in Odisha during the last 17 years generating thousands of jobs.  Odisha has emerged third, next to Maharashtra and Gujarat, in attracting investments to the country. The state has recorded an impressive 8 per cent economic growth against 7 per cent at national level.

The Naveen Patnaik government has taken a number of development initiatives and administrative reforms to bring significant strides in all spheres, including economy, health, education, industry and infrastructure. 

Odisha under Naveen Patnaik is a happening state. It has become a state of opportunities and possibilities. The dreams of its founding fathers of uniting Odisha culturally and linguistically have been achieved in full measure. People of Odisha have been showering their blessings upon him year after year as they feel he has made them proud in all walks of life.