Champua: Even as scores of outfits have been pitching for spread and protection of Oriya, the language is passing though a crisis in Oriya-speaking tracts of neighbouring Jharkhand.
The problem is – the language is not taught in some Oriya schools while other schools lack teachers to teach the language. Under such circumstances, Oriya students are becoming weak in the language and preferring other languages.
People in these tracts allege though many organisations have been raising their voices for protection of the language, concrete efforts were lacking in this direction.
In these areas, children speak in Oriya in home atmosphere, but when it comes to school atmosphere, they are completely deprived of studying in their mother language though it is recognised as second official language in the state.
Besides, there are many government schools where Oriya students study, but they do have textbooks in the language.
The government-run Oriya medium schools included Oriya primary school at Jagannathpur, Oriya ME school at Purunabasti in Chakradharpur, Khandamouda Oriya high school at Baharaguda.
Similarly, among private schools are Gua Oriya upper primary school, Utakalmani Bidyamandir at Chakradharpur, Utkal Samaj High School at Golmuri, Sindhu Kanhu Oriya High School at Bagun Tola in Jamshedpur, Oriya ME school at Chaibasa, Oriya ME school at Adityapur and Sadheikala municipality ME school.
Moreover, there are residential Oriya medium schools at Jayantigada, Saraswatipur, Mandali, Handibhanga, Chhanapada, Gobalagaon, Manuikapur and Kadakala.
In most of the schools, students are not taught in Oriya for lack of teachers though about 80 to 90 per cent of students in these schools are Oriya.
Guardians allege textbooks are not available in Oriya. “To get textbooks in Oriya, we have to depend on bordering Keonjhar district,” they said.
Oriya language had its glorious days in Sadheikala and Kharasuan in 1936. Oriya was so popular that a bazaar at Chaibasa was named after Madhubabu.
Orissa became a separate province in 1936 and Oriya was recognised as special language. However, in 1948, Oriya-speaking areas like Sadheikala and Kharasuan became part of Bihar.
To this day, Oriya people living in these tracts have retained their cultural ethos and traditions. Currently 30 to 50 lakh Oriyas live in various parts of Jharkhand.
“To protect Oriya language and culture, there is a need for intensive efforts by the state government. Regular supply of Oriya textbooks to these schools should be ensured,” said Subash Chandra Behera, founder of All India Oriya Samaj. PNN
PNN