The three-day 74th session of the Indian History Congress (IHC), which concluded at the Ravenshaw University here on Monday, brought to fore a deep-rooted rift between academicians and bureaucrats of Odisha.
Notwithstanding the successful hosting of a national event of repute, the IHC session witnessed several hiccups in terms of hospitality meted out to delegates, which were hitherto not known in Odisha as the State is known for its generosity. It was noticed that the bureaucrats are mainly at fault, for they, who were heading all the hospitality components of the session.
Although the university authorities had been blaming the Babus for all the shabby arrangements, they were not coming out openly with candid remarks until the session ended. It was none other than university Vice-Chancellor Prof BC Tripathy who first expressed his unhappiness over the conduct of the bureaucrats.
Participating in a question-answer session in a panel discussion, he without mincing words alleged that the bureaucrats are now controlling the State.After presentation of a paper on “Comparing Odisha’s Past with the Present Scenario: A Call for leadership” by Prof Amol Mishra of the Utkal University, Prof Tripathy stood up to make an observation saying it was for bureaucrats alone that the State is now lagging behind in economic prosperity.
“Odisha is now being controlled by bureaucrats and, therefore, the poverty continues here. They are not answerable to people. And the intelligentsia have failed in their duty to guide the bureaucrats in proper way,” the Vice-Chancellor said, triggering a whisper in the audience.
Summarising the Odisha Panel discussions, Dr Asha Sarangi of the Centre for Political Studies in JNU observed that it is always dangerous when servants assume the role of masters, thereby clearly suggesting the status of bureaucrats. She, however, went to add that bureaucrats and intelligentsia do not grow in isolation.