There have been fourteen Chief Ministers in Odisha among whom Janaki Ballav Patnaik is an unforgettable one for more than one reason as everybody knows. He created the record of completing full terms for the first time in history. He became the most controversial politician on record to have committed nepotism and misrule. All the same, he cannot be erased from the pages of history for some of his fantastic contributions.
But what hurts Odias is the fact that Biswanath Das, Binayak Acharya and Sadasiba Tripathy have been completely rubbed off public discourse. More painfully, another dramatic character called Biren Mitra, who was a daredevil, philanthropic Chief Minister, has been shelved in the darkest garbage yards of historians. Mitra was installed by Biju Patnaik. He died a pauper whom the street people remembered for ages for having got unconditionally grand help from him during crises.
*The month of April remains exceedingly eventful for Odisha. Harekrushna Mahtab was the first Chief Minister who took oath on April 23, 1946 and again in 1957 he was made Chief Minister on April 6. Binayak Acharya relinquished the post under compelling circumstances to attract President’s Rule on April 6 in 1977. Biju Patnaik and JB Patnaik too left the wicked world in April. But what saves the Fool’s month from infamy in Odisha is the fact that the greatest Odia of the modern times was also born in April -- Madhusudan Das rightly called the Utkal Gaurav meaning the ‘Pride of Utkal’. Madhubabu was born on April 28 in 1846 to become Odessa’s first graduate, first lawyer, first legislator, first Minister, first newspaper publisher (Utkal Deepika), first recognised social reformer and first daring industrialist with the sole view to turning the poor Odia youths skilled and respectfully employed. He is the only philanthropist who gave away his last hard-earned dime for happiness of the Odia race. He founded the Utkal Sammilani, an outfit to fight for an independent language-based State of Odisha. The closest friend Gajapati Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati of Parala had stood behind Madhubabu like a rock with the best of financial and moral support.
Madhubabu had also set up an ‘Art Ware’ unit in Cuttack to promote fine gold and silver ornament work known as filigree. He laid the foundations of everything that would lead to making an independent Odisha State. Odias seem to have forgotten that Madhubabu just before his death had sold off his tannery spread over 20 acres of prime land for only twenty-five thousand rupees to the Gajapati Maharaja Ramachandra Deb of Puri. No one knows clearly what happened to the tannery property which manufactured shoes to resist British products from being sold in Odisha, the same way as Jamshedji Nusarwanji Tata, the Tata empire founder, did to attain Swadeshi.
Madhubabu was also a great poet and journalist. His poems have been so brilliantly and inspiringly penned that even a kid of our times would spring to feet to face any crisis and enemy without having a second thought. Sadly, Madhubabu is hardly remembered as a great poet whereas incumbent, former and long-gone bureaucrats particularly from the IAS community are hailed as unique poets. These modern poets have no skills for rhyming couplets; the super brains slice down weird prose into uneven lines and call the script poetry, and very surprisingly, sycophantic subordinates and favour-seeking critics keep rating garbage as gold.
Madhubabu died in 1934 after having lost ungrudgingly all material goods, including his palatial dwelling house in Cuttack. He had sacrificed everything only to make Odisha a State and fight for independence of India. Mahatma Gandhi respected Madhubabu as much as he did Netaji Subhas Bose. A billion salutes to Utkal Gaurav, who has not been recognised as the greatest Odia until now only because vested interests and fools have stolen the limelight to make other smaller creatures appear big.
*Interestingly, in Puri, a clever lawyer activist has demanded space in the Swargadwar premises for putting up a Janaki Ballav Patnaik memorial only because Biju Patnaik’s ‘Samadhi has not been demolished despite an earlier court order. People are waiting with bated breath to see what stand the State authorities are going to take in the sensitive matter.
*The State Government has declared a top-priority refund package to all smaller than 10,000-rupee depositors cheated by Ponzi companies. The move is legally challengeable. The State exchequer belongs to the entire population of Odisha including millions of poor in great need of help. The State cannot come to bring relief to greedy investors, who, for certain, had never sought the advice of any authority with regard to investment. For that matter, thousands of people are falling victim to crooks everyday in Odisha. Ornament and money snatchers, robbers and bandits cause great misery to ordinary people who lose so much without having been greedy or careless. The State has failed to deploy quality security personnel and instal sophisticated gadgets to survey and nab criminals to recover the stolen or robbed goods. These victims too have a right to demand recovery of their valuables.
*The Naveen Patnaik administration has gifted the people of Odisha with free medicines at all hospitals, which is a great step in alleviating the suffering of the poor! But then, which honest agency is assigned with the job of keeping a watch over quality is the big question. Welfare States have had on record free medicines at all times. But the bitter truth, as exposed invariably, is terribly bad quality and perpetual non-availability of stock. However, if a few of such projects come in place with seriousness, the Naveen administration will assume the proportions of a most desired monarchy never to be dismissed by voters. The BJD will be a dynasty forever and Naveen will remain Monarch until end.
*Nepal quake has shaken up the entire Indian subcontinent. Experts say there is some constant upward grinding activity of the mass beneath the crust of the earth from the middle of the India region. Odisha’s cities including Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Sambalpur and Puri are in the vulnerable zone where unfortunately dangerously planned high-rise housing structures are coming up indiscriminately. The statutory authorities, after being greased by unscrupulous builders, keep okaying projects without worry. It is high time people got the physical scrutiny of all structures done by employing credible experts before investing, no matter how reputed the builder is and how beautiful the property looks.
*lastly, the MPs inspired by Modi have donated a full month’s salary for the victims of the Nepal natural tragedy. Ten thousand lives are gone officially. The dead shall not require much, the survivors shall. They need all help. NGO founders have a big role to play. They have to begin with at least two months’ salary given away as donation because they talk too much, particularly the ones that avail fat external funding as spending money without much accountability. Many founders who steal hefty salaries (all illegally) must contribute and declare their magnanimity in public. For all that we know, most of the bad and ugly NGOs shall only harangue and shed crocodile tears and whimper down slyly as the quake tragedy begins to get off the prime space or time in the media. The founders who kept claiming big disaster management experience until this quake would be looking for hiding holes in case loads of windfall make-believe skills their way. Money gives them loud voice and strength to publicise their ‘skills’. The good ones are always honest, ethical and reticent. They have no physical structure or material goods to flaunt or the inclination or resources to organise self-publicity. The nonprofit community may not be able to reach the devastation site, but they can pretty well send resources through innumerable high-integrity agencies at work on location.
(The writer is a core member of Transparency International, Odisha)
