There are more powers lying latent and potent in a postcard than in many bombs. The recent episode of posting one lakh letters to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik through postcards has ushered in a sort of revolution at the call given by Bhasa Suraksha Sammilani leader and BJD member of Rajya Sabha Baishnab Parida. In 1867 during the British time, there was a conspiracy to root out Odia language and the leaders who protested against this were the legendary Fakirmohan Senapati, Gourishankar Ray, Madhusudan Rao and others in which joined the Odia patriarch Utkalgaurv Madhusudan Das.
That was the first phase of the historic revolution to save Odia language which became stronger in the year 1954 when the official Odia language Act was promulgated by then Chief Minister Nabakrushna Choudhury. Unfortunately, the Act was gathering dust at the State Secretariat.
It got a new lease of life when in 1985 the then Chief Minister Janaki Ballav Patnaik issued a directive that all official transactions be carried on in Odia. But due to the callousness in the administration, subsequently this directive became practically in-operational; thereby the attempt to strengthen the language was virtually nipped in the bud.
Baishnab Parida has probably started from where Fakirmohan and Madhusudan had left, although they are separated by a distance of space and time of almost one and a half centuries.
When Parida started the movement under the banner of the Bhasa Suraksha Sammilani, some of his political colleagues and critics thought that he is probably firing this salvo at Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who despite his popularity among the masses, is not speaking the language of the State.
But Parida was confident that his intention was honest which aimed at extensive and elaborate use of Odia in all walks of life starting from education, administration, courts and in business without any ulterior motive.
He was hopeful that a day would dawn when his critics would realise the sincerity of his purpose.
Now, Parida's call has inspired Odia speaking people who have become enthusiastic in their heart and soul to save their mother language, as a result of which this has gained the status of a mass movement. People from all walks of life, especially intellectuals, youth and the student mass are joining the movement every passing day.
It is for the first time in the history of Odisha that one lakh of written postcards have reached the office of the CM asking him to make Odia the official language practically by implementing the 1954 Act in its letter and spirit.
No matter however the BJD mandarins take the pill in their skeptical way as a weapon against Naveen Patnaik, Parida has an altogether different story to tell.
Speaking to The Pioneer, he says, “If Naveenbabu implements the 1954 Odisha Official language Act in its true spirit, he would be immortalised and would rule the State for another decade and then my opponents and the soothsayers of the CM would realise whether I am a loyal friend or a disgruntled foe to our popular Chief Minister.”
He added, “My appeal to our Chief Minister is that he is fulfilling the unfinished dreams of Bijubabu, his legendary father, and now it is his turn to translate the dreams of another Odia savant and a great freedom fighter Nabakrushna Choudhry by implementing the Act of 1954 in a pen stroke of finality so as to carve a permanent place for himself in the history of Odisha.”
Parida believes that possibly Naveen Patnaik has realised the sentiments of the Odia people and the genuineness of their contention so that he has formed a committee of five Ministers under the chairmanship of Debi Prasad Mishra to devise the ways and means for implementing the popular demand of the Odia speaking people.
Consequently, Parida has postponed a massive dharna he had planned before the State legislative Assembly on August 18, the opening day of the coming session of the legislature.
The Moscow-trained activist Parida is now on his heels to organise a State-level meeting of the Bhasa Suraksha Sammilani to appeal to all legislators cutting across party lines for a threadbare discussion on the floor of the Assembly leading to declaration of a final acceptance of the 1954 Act with necessary amendment and to implement the same within the framework of a time-bound programme.
Needless to mention that Parida during these two years of the movement has travelled every nook and corner of the State, and everywhere he received wholehearted support of all sections of the people.
Youths and aged ones, professors, advocates, journalists, students and workers find in him their popular aspirations to see their mother language occupy its pyramidal and pivotal position in all spheres of activities like all other regional languages in other States of the country.
Parida is bent on waging a relentless Bhasa Suraksha movement and is breathing all fire and brimstones winning the hearts of the youths at a time when most of his party leaders choose to crawl when they are merely asked to bend a little by their party supremo Naveen Patnaik.