KUMUD JENAMANI
Jamshedpur, Jan 27: The exclusion of primary-level teachers training in Odiya language by the Jharkhand Academic Council in the state has evoked widespread protest by the people belonging to the community since the past fortnight.
Though the matter related to dropping the provision tangibly hit scores of aspiring Odiya teachers, it has also impacted over 40 lakh people belonging to the community who live in the twin districts of Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan district.
Several socio-cultural organisations across the Kolhan began to raise voices under Utkal Sammelani, an umbrella organisation of the Odiya community here, ever since the provision of primary teachers training in the Odiya language was dropped vide notification on January 7 this year.
The resentful people from the community, including doctors, professors, lawyers and academicians are holding protest meetings, demanding the controversial step taken by the Jharkhand Academic Council be reverted back.
Such protest meetings are being organised at different places by keeping the Utkal Sammelani in the loop at Jamshedpur, Seraikela-Kharsawan district and at parts of West Singhbum district where the interest in the Odiya medium education is certain to be majorly affected.
At Jamshedpur, the functionaries of Utkal Sammelani have decided to submit a petition to the East Singhbhum deputy commissioner, Vijay Jadhav shortly.
At a protest meeting held in the Utkal Association hall recently, the Utkal Sammelani functionaries decided to submit a petition addressed to the Chief Minister, Hemant Soren at the office of the DC, East Singhbhum, demanding a reversal of the step taken by the Jharkhand Academic Council in the context of providing primary teachers training in Odiya language.
Similarly, the people belonging to the community in West Singhbhum under the aegis of the Kera royal family have decided to resort to legal steps if the Jharkhand Academic Council does not revert its decision over the issue by January 31.
“How can the Jharkhand Academic Council ignore the importance of the Odiya language by excluding it from the list of languages entitled to get the facility of primary teachers training? Odiya language is not only included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, but it is one of six languages to have attained the Classical language status, the other five being Sanskrit, Malayali, Telugu, Kannada and Tamil,” said Ashok Mahanty, one of the protesters while talking to lagatar24.com.
Stressing the importance of the Odiya language across the Kolhan, the protester said one can find official documents in the Odiya language at the Chaibasa court’s record room 100 years ago when the Singhbhum district was undivided and Chaibasa would be the district headquarters.
