SOCIAL CHANGE IN ODISHA

Bikash Choudhury



Thirty year ago, an old lady was reprimanded by gang of her own grand children; the criminal offense of the old lady was, she couldn't pronounce the English word 'Change' correctly and instead she said '' Chende".Kids from English medium school generally make a spectacle of their English pronunciation & diction before their less fortunate classmates from Odiya medium schools; and, their English speaking ability caricatured in the college canteens & near bus stops. But, for 75 long years, Odisha was wrongly written in English language and not a single voice went up or a little murmur heard any where until recently. No other language would have put up with such affront as Odiya language and its people did. Correcting the English spelling of Odisha may or may not bring any substantial change in society or in the economy; even then also, the change must happen as it is the question of pride and reputation of a five thousand year old language and over four crore Odiya speaking people. The amount of time and money in this mission is immaterial.
Not many will agree, emphasis on Odiya language and culture over a period of time, may bring about a change in the "social thinking" in Odisha and in course of time in the "Social system”. The current social practice of Odisha put a lot of importance over academic excellence and on getting into Govt. jobs like I.A.S, O.A.S,Engineer,Doctor,Bank officer and Software Engineer.Odiya people put less premium on extracurricular activity; as such misdemeanor very strictly discouraged inside Odiya family. Therefore, many times, very bright sports persons does not see the light of the day, a singer constrained to the boundary of his or home or at best exposed to the extended family and friends, actor castigated as evil omen for the family. May be, it sounds little exaggerated but if a survey conducted on Odiya family value system the truth will emerge. Individual excellence and passion subjugated to societal model of acceptance which stifles growth of individual and his domain of interest. This could be due to five hundred years of colonial rule which has created a mindset that prefer structured work environment, assured income; therefore they favor routine white collar jobs over Entrepreneurship.
Emphasis on Odiya language, literature and culture would trigger a new and fresh social thinking. As native language/mother tongue connects the hearts and mind of an individual with most efficient conductor available to mankind; therefore, the love for one's own language would create an individuality and pride in one's being that would drive a person in search of his own strength and identity and sooner than later it will propel him in the direction of Innovation-Excellence-Enterprise. Eventually, burying the old antiquated typical Odiya social practices with a more open liberal social system where individual right to pursue his passion would be respected and that will drive Odiya people to excel in their chosen field. However, it is easier said than done to attract Odiya people to their own language; because, English as commercial and Hindi as cultural language has taken deep root in the psychic of an average person living in Odisha.There is actually no harm in developing competence in English and Hindi; but, should not be at the expense of their own Odiya language. If Odiya people don't show passion to learn read, write and speak Odiya language then who will? 'Charity begins at home' and therefore, Govt. needs to take initiative to use Odiya language in administration from bottom-up by creating Odiya language cells in each Dept. and each office in the State to prepare the Babus to learn to use Odiya language in a time frame of 5-10 years. From ancient times, literature and culture flourished under the patronage of rulers and therefore, the current rulers like Ministers and M.L.A must take interest in promoting Odiya literature(Poetry) that will encourage young people to follow Odiya poetry, script writing for movie and create an eco-system for high quality music, feature films in Odiya language; eventually help drawing Odiya people to their own language.Paradox.This piece was written with help of English language owing to poor computer skills in Odiya language; which needs to be fixed in schools and colleges as part of learning Odiya language.