Biswa Bhusan Mohapatra
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar: It may appear redundant in 2016, almost 67 years after the state legislature passed a resolution to make Oriya the official language of Orissa, to discuss feasibility of implementing the move.
Orissa Assembly, to mark the first Utkal Diwas after Independence (April 1, 1948), resolved to adopt Oriya as official language of Orissa.
True to the spirit of the resolution, Nabakrushna Choudhury government framed the Orissa Official Language Act, 1954, which came into force October 14, 1954. The Act was amended in 1963 and again in 1985.
“It is expedient to provide for adoption of Oriya as the language to be used for all official purposes… It shall come into force at once. The state may, by notification, direct that in any specified area and with effect from any specified date Oriya shall be used in respect of such official purposes as may be specified in the notification,” the Act of 1954 said.
It was stated that all Bills to be introduced or amended shall be presented in the Assembly, all Acts passed by the Assembly, all Ordinances promulgated by the Governor and all orders, rules, regulations and bye-laws issued by the state will be written in Oriya. In reality, the Act failed to make Oriya the only official language of the state as there was no penal provision in it.
In 1963, at the behest of some non-Oriya bureaucrats, Biju Patnaik government incorporated an amendment into the Act making provision for use of English in official communication, sources said.
“Notwithstanding the expiration of the period of 15 years from the commencement of the Constitution, the English language may, as from the 26th day of January, 1965, continue to be used, in addition to Oriya for the transaction of business in legislature…,” the amended Act (1963) said.
The amendment, in a way, dilutes use of Oriya in official communications. Non-Oriya officers on Central services, for their own convenience, ignored the Act and went on transacting their files in English.
In 1983, however, the government led by Janaki Ballabh Patnaik once again ordered implementation of Oriya as the official language. The chief minister was instrumental in compiling an English-Oriya lexicon and insisted on use of Oriya typewriters for all official purposes. He also ordered use of Oriya typewriters in government offices and the Secretariat.
However, within months, the officials found Oriya typewriters difficult to handle due to technical reasons. Typing Oriya numeral was one of the difficult issues. The JB Patnaik government considering the difficulties amended the Act to facilitate use of English numbers in place of Oriya.
In April 1995, the CMO ordered all officials to draft files in Oriya, otherwise, files would be turned down.
Ultimately, Oriya could not be implemented as the official language because the government made no penal provision against those who flout the official languages Act. The Act also did not empower the government to frame rules to ensure proper implementation of the Act.
No deadline, however, was set to adopt Oriya as the official language. No provision of action was prescribed for non-implementation of the Act.
Some officials, politicians and social activists are votaries of Oriya language who exert pressure on the government to implement the Act in toto.
Opposition leaders who create din in and outside the assembly over Oriya language row are themselves raise questions in English. Congress floor leader in the House Narasingha Mishra and BJP legislator KV Singhdeo are among leaders who often use English in the Assembly.
Now, the issue has snowballed into a controversy. It is still an arduous task for the government to implement the Act in its true spirit. All official papers at the Secretariat are being handled by Orissa Secretariat Workflow Automation System (OSWAS). OSWAS is a computer based networking system and is operational in English.
“The government should bring in the needed changes to the Act by incorporating penal provisions against the violators. Otherwise, Oriya will continue to get a raw deal,” said Oriya author Subhas Chandra Pattanayak.
“Government should amend the Act in its present form to ensure Oriya use as primary official language of Orissa. Also, there should be scope for use of other languages like e-English for all official communication,” said Sankarshan Parida, convener of Oriya Bhasha Sangram Samiti.
“The government has been taking all measures to enact Oriya Language Act. We are discussing the issue with language experts and have sought public opinion to frame rules to implement the Act,” said minister Debi Prasad Mishra who is the chairman of inter-ministerial committee constituted to enact the Act.
“As per the prevalent rules, government cannot force anybody to implement Oriya as an official language. The Act needs amendment after which we will frame rules to implement it,” an official of general administration department said.
In an effort to amend the laws, the government has requested the law department to frame the draft amendment and place it before the Cabinet, following which it would be presented in the Assembly, the official said.
“The Centre uses both Hindi and English for official communication. We may, for our convenience, use both Oriya and English. We cannot use Oriya for dialogue with the Centre,” he pointed out.